Tony Dokoupil: Don’t just trust me. Make me earn it.

A lot has changed since the first person sat in the Evening News chair. For me, the biggest difference is this: people don’t trust us like they used to.

And it’s not just us. It’s all legacy media.

I get it. I’ve been hearing about it from just about everybody, for more than 20 years, as I’ve traveled America on assignment. My mom’s neighbors in West Virginia. My own neighbors in New York City. Thousands of conversations in between.

Sometimes they want to talk to me about our coverage of NAFTA or the Iraq War. Other times, it’s about Hillary Clinton’s emails or Russiagate. Or more recently, COVID lockdowns, Hunter Biden’s laptop or the president’s fitness for office.

The point is that on too many stories the press missed the story. Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you.

I know this because, at certain points, I have been you. I have felt that way too. I have felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn’t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life. And that the most urgent questions simply weren’t being asked.

So here’s my promise to you as long as I sit in this chair: you come first. Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. 

I report for you.

Which means I tell you what I know, when I know it and how I know it. And when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that too. It also means I’m going to talk to everybody, and hold everyone in public life to the same standard. And because I became a journalist to talk to people. I love talking to people about what works in this country, what doesn’t, and not only what should change, but the good ideas that never should. 

I think telling the truth is one of them.

Hold me to it.

The new CBS Evening News With Tony Dokoupil starts on January 5. Tune in at 6:30 p.m. local time on CBS to watch live, or catch-the re-air on CBS News 24/7 at 10 p.m. ET. You can also stream the show on-demand later each night on CBSNews.com, Paramount+ and the CBS Evening News YouTube channel.