News Americas, New York, NY, January 28, 2025: The CBS Evening News entered a new chapter on Monday as Maurice DuBois, the son of Caribbean immigrants, and John Dickerson, the son of CBS News’ first female correspondent, debuted as co-anchors of the iconic broadcast. This marks a significant shift for the flagship newscast, which dates back to the earliest days of television.
This change comes following anchor Norah O’Donnell’s final sign-off last Thursday after over five years and nearly 1,300 broadcasts. O’Donnell will now focus on investigative journalism and major interviews for CBS programs like 60 Minutes and CBS Evening News.
The new co-anchored format pairs DuBois and Dickerson with Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan, who will contribute coverage of politics and Washington. The revamped show also features chief weathercaster Lonnie Quinn, reflecting the importance of weather in drawing national interest.
DuBois and Dickerson bring a unique dynamic to the broadcast. Both anchors have emphasized their commitment to delivering deeper context and perspective for viewers.
DuBois highlighted the importance of helping viewers navigate complex stories. “Our aim is to put all that stuff into context, to let you know at home that, hey, this is what it really means, and it’s going to be all right at the end of the day,” he said.
Born on Long Island, New York, to parents from Dominica, DuBois attended Port Jefferson High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. While in college, he interned at the Public Affairs Office of the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, contributing to the employee newspaper, the Brookhaven Bulletin.
DuBois began his career in 1987 as a desk assistant at KING-TV in Seattle, Washington. He then served as an anchor and reporter at WFLD-TV in Chicago, Illinois, and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California. He spent seven years at WNBC-TV in New York, co-anchoring ‘Today in New York’ and hosting ‘Four Stories’ and ‘Mind Over Media.’
Maurice DuBois also worked as a substitute news reader on NBC News’s ‘Today’ and its weekend editions. In September 2004, he joined WCBS-TV in New York as an anchor for the 6 pm newscast, ‘CBS 2 News at 6,’ with Dana Tyler. Since then, he has co-anchored ‘CBS 2 News This Morning’ and ‘CBS 2 News at Noon’ with Cindy Hsu and Mary Calvi.
The newscast now opens with in-depth reporting on major stories, as demonstrated in Monday’s debut, which began with coverage of China’s artificial intelligence company, DeepSeek. DuBois and Dickerson discussed the story before handing off to Brennan in Washington, who offered additional perspective. The program also includes a quickfire “Round-Up” segment featuring short summaries of key stories and a “HEADLINES” ticker during commercial breaks to keep viewers informed.
New elements like the “Eye on America” segment offer deep dives into impactful stories, while the final segment often highlights inspirational features, such as honoring first responders.
The revamped format, which seeks to prioritize quality over quantity, takes risks by moving away from the traditional single-anchor model. CBS hopes the changes will help the Evening News stand out against competitors like ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC’s Nightly News.
While the show’s ratings consistently trailed its rivals, CBS leaders hope this new format will attract a broader audience and integrate the efforts of CBS News and its local affiliates. The CBS Evening News now aims to bring fresh perspectives and in-depth storytelling to audiences, with DuBois and Dickerson anchoring this bold new direction.