As far as New Year’s resolutions go, Tony Dokoupil has declared a good one. In a recent monologue, the new “CBS Evening News” anchor said that he wants to restore the audience’s faith in him and in news providers.

“A lot has changed since the first person sat in this chair,” Dokoupil began. “But for me, the biggest difference is people do not trust us like they used to. And it’s not just us. It’s all of legacy media. And I get it. I get it because I’ve been hearing about it from just about everybody for more than 20 years as I’ve traveled America on this assignment or that.”

“On too many stories, the press has 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.”

That changes now. The new CBS Evening News… pic.twitter.com/NKdvRJjYCS

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 1, 2026

Over the past many decades, the legacy media have been exposed for the utter partisan hacks that they are. Here are just a few examples from the past five years:

• Border Patrol agents were “whipping” illegals.

• Joe Biden was totally fit for office.

• Hunter Biden’s laptop was a Russian plant.

• Kamala Harris was an articulate and amazing candidate. Or this chestnut: Kamala was never the “border czar.”

• Get a COVID shot or else you’re killing Grandma.

The list of propaganda is astonishing. It could fill an entire book. Frankly, you can’t distrust the mainstream media enough. President Donald Trump was entirely correct in his first term when he called the legacy media “the enemy of the people” and employed the ubiquitous term “fake news.”

Back to CBS, Dokoupil had more to say: “On too many stories, the press has 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. And I know this because, at certain points, I have been you. I have felt this 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.”

Former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge has experienced firsthand the underhanded political partisanship within CBS. Recall that she was on the Hunter Biden laptop confirmation story that was postponed until after the 2022 midterms.

Former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge explaining how executives delayed her verified Hunter Biden laptop story until after the 2022 midterms. pic.twitter.com/TfhFSXH8Bz

— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) January 2, 2026

Herridge also had the opportunity to interview Elon Musk in the fall of 2023, but executives didn’t want her to conduct a live interview because they wanted to be able to edit what was said.

Herridge was laid off from CBS and had all her documents seized. She is currently fighting in the courts to ensure that her confidential sources are protected from being outed.

Then there’s President Trump’s recent legal settlement with CBS and “60 Minutes” over edits to Kamala Harris’s interview.

“So here’s my promise to you,” Dokoupil said at the end of his monologue. “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 very same standard. After all, 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 should never change. I think telling the truth is one of them. I’m Tony Dokoupil, the anchor of the CBS Evening News. Hold me to it.”

While these words are admirable, the fact that he even had to say them — to pledge to tell the truth and not let partisan politics or other special interests sway his reporting integrity — is really something. We can only hope that this is yet another example of The Bari Weiss Effect: restoring journalistic integrity to legacy media. The alternative is a New Year’s resolution from Tony Dokoupil that peters out after a month or two and old habits return, as most resolutions do.