Top of the Ticker: Tony Dokoupil’s stint as the latest CBS Evening News anchor officially began on Monday evening in the show’s New York studios and not on the road as previously planned. This was a result of the breaking news coverage dealing with the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son by the U.S. military.
Monday’s edition of CBS Evening News was seen by 4.368 million total viewers and 596,000 Adults 25-54 viewers, according to data provided courtesy of Nielsen big data + panel. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was the top evening news broadcast, averaging 8.238 million total viewers and 1.015 million A25-54 viewers, followed by NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas, averaging 7.207 million total viewers and 1.099 million A25-54 viewers.
Compared with the debuts of his most recent predecessors, Dokoupil’s premiere was down -18% in total viewers and -23% in the demo vs. the Jan. 27, 2025, debut of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. It was also down -22% in total viewers and -36% in the A25-54 demo when compared with the debut of Norah O’Donnell on July 15, 2019.
Meanwhile, there are reports of an unexpected reshuffling with the behind-the-scenes team, as Javier Guzman, a senior broadcast producer for the program, was let go after Wednesday’s broadcast.
Finally, CBS News announced Adriana Diaz and Kelly O’Grady as the new co-hosts of its Saturday morning news show, CBS Saturday Morning, beginning Saturday, January 10. Diaz, who has been with the network since 2012, most recently served as co-host of CBS Morning Plus, which was cancelled last year, and as anchor of the Saturday edition of CBS Weekend News. O’Grady, who joined the network in 2024, was most recently a MoneyWatch correspondent. Diaz and O’Grady take over from Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson, who were part of the network’s layoffs announced in October.
On Saturday, Jan. 10, Adriana Diaz and Kelly O’Grady debut as co-hosts of “CBS Saturday Morning.” https://t.co/JKnV45eJfw
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 9, 2026
Peacock free: Versant officially became an independent media company on Monday, January 5, completing its spin-off from Comcast. The new parent company of MS NOW, formerly MSNBC and CNBC, began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol VSNT. MS NOW and CNBC talent joined CEO Mark Lazarus in ringing the opening bell on Monday at Nasdaq’s Times Square headquarters. Shares of the company fell by 20% during the first two days; however, CNBC’s Alex Sherman noted, “Many indexes that own Comcast aren’t allowed to own Versant, so there is forced selling in these early days of the stock’s existence.”
Inform. Entertain. Inspire. @VersantMedia is officially #NasdaqListed 🎉 See the highlights from listing day below! pic.twitter.com/L1do3iBPIp
— Nasdaq Exchange (@NasdaqExchange) January 6, 2026
Programming changes: CNBC announced on Friday a slew of changes to its business-day programming, including Melissa Lee and Michael Santoli as co‑anchors of Closing Bell Overtime, starting Tuesday, January 20. Previous hosts Morgan Brennan and Jon Fortt are being shifted to other time slots: Brennan to the 5 a.m. hour beginning Monday, January 26, and Fortt to host a new show focused on tech leadership, with more details to be released soon. In addition, Frank Holland will anchor CNBC International’s U.S. Markets Edition, and Brian Sullivan will add to his duties with a new energy vertical on CNBC Pro.
Revolving Door: Allie Canal was named a reporter for NBC News’ business and economy unit. Reporting across broadcast, streaming, and digital platforms, Canal will focus on the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street. She was previously a senior reporter and on-air correspondent at Yahoo Finance.
10 years ago, I landed my first “big girl” TV news internship in Philly. S/O @6abc!
A few weird and wonderful twists later, from @people to @YahooFinance, and today is my first day as an on-air business & economy reporter at @NBCNews.
2026 … I’m ready for you! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RfWnPIu38q
— Allie Canal (@allie_canal) January 5, 2026
CNN promoted Alayna Treene to a network correspondent. In that role, she will continue to cover the White House. Treene joined the network in January 2023 as a reporter covering the Trump campaign.
CNN’s Alayna Treene has been promoted to Correspondent. Alayna will continue covering the White House for the network. Congratulations, @AlaynaTreene! pic.twitter.com/NmkhRbAZ2m
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) January 7, 2026
Finally, Danny Moses is joining Scripps News as a financial contributor and host of a new weekly series, The Danny Moses Show. Premiering Friday, January 23, the show, which will also feature Vincent Daniel and Porter Collins, provides candid insights, opinions, and behind-the-scenes stories about how they saw the 2008 financial crisis coming and what events they’re watching right now.