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CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil admitted on Thursday that legacy media has ignored the perspective of average Americans and put “too much weight” into the views of the elites.

Dokoupil became the new host of “CBS Evening News” in January during CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’ efforts to balance the network’s coverage and boost ratings. During a message to viewers, Dokoupil promised to put the viewer first over politicians and corporate interests in order to regain the public’s trust.

“The point is on too many stories, the presshas missed the story because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocatesand not the average American,” Dokoupil said. “Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elitesand not enough on you. And I know this because at certain points,I have been you. I have felt this way too. I felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the newsdidn’t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life.”

“And that the most urgent questionssimply weren’t being asked. So here’s my promise to you today and every time you see me in thischair. You come first, not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests. And yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS,” Dokoupil continued. 

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Dokoupil also promised to hold every public official to the same standard and admit when he got something wrong. He named the reports on Hunter Biden’s laptop, former President Joe Biden’s fitness for office and the now-debunked investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the election as examples of stories where the legacy media lost the public’s trust.

Dokoupil’s new role follows the departure of former hosts John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois in December. The two longtime anchors left the network after Weiss became the editor-in-chief in October.

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Throughout his time at “CBS Mornings,” Dokoupil has challenged prominent Democrats on the network, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who pressed him in March about his party’s lack of trust in his leadership. He also got into a heated discussion with Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in October about voting to shut the government down over healthcare.

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