A report this week suggested that 'CBS Evening News' was considering a new Jack Daniel's-sponsored segment for anchor Tony Dokoupil, though CBS and the liquor brand are shutting down the claim

With Tony Dokoupil's CBS News Reign off to a dwindling start, is the evening news program's overhaul worth the trouble?

Sullivan was also critical of the newscast’s promises to its audience, which includes the declaration “We love America,” saying that journalists can show their patriotism by being willing to challenge authority, holding the powerful accountable and favoring reporting over punditry.

Dokoupil started his CBS Evening News job two days early, on January 3, to report on the U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela, but his conversation with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also put off viewers who deemed it an uncritical interview.

Among viewers between 25 to 54, the demographic favored most by advertisers in news programming, the audience also fell 23%, according to data from Nielsen. Dokoupil’s first five days captured an average of 533,000, compared with 690,000 a year earlier.

Compared to the debut week of the co-anchor duo Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson, who Dokoupil replaced after they spent less than a year behind the desk, CBS Evening News declined 23 percent in adul

The CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil will be live Wednesday night from Eleven City Diner in Chicago's West Loop.

That said, CBS News has pointed to ratings gains season to date, as Dokoupil’s debut was up vs. the fourth quarter, when evening broadcast averaged 4.03 million viewers and 502,000 in the 25-54 demo. John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois anchored the broadcast before departing the network last month.