Tony Dokoupil to Broadcast from Taipei After Visa Delay — Cbs News Medical Emergency
Tony Dokoupil will broadcast from Taipei this week after failing to obtain a visa to China in time, forcing a change to CBS News' planned coverage from the Chinese capital. The shift came up on the CBS morning planning call Wednesday, according to two people briefed on the issue.
Two people briefed on the matter said Dokoupil had not been able to get a Chinese visa, while CBS News declined to comment. The change leaves the anchor in Taipei instead of Beijing as American broadcasters prepare extensive coverage from the region this week.
Wednesday Planning Call
The timing of the move points to a last-minute adjustment. On Wednesday, CBS discussed plans for Dokoupil to broadcast from the Taiwanese capital, after the network had been planning coverage from Beijing this week.
That planning call matters because CBS is not the only network making the trip. On Sunday, another report said NBC News' Tom Llamas would be anchoring from Beijing, as will ABC News' David Muir. CBS had two correspondents who would be traveling with US President Donald Trump in China.
Beijing Coverage Plan
The network's plan to cover the story from China now includes a reporter in Taipei rather than the Chinese capital. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to inquiries about why Dokoupil is not in Beijing.
CBS News has continued to see its ratings slide, and managing editor Charles Forelle said last week, "We don’t think that we want to move 10 degrees to the right and find the center. We think that there’s a wider aperture of audience out there than other people think,"
CBS News Ratings
The broader backdrop is a network trying to manage a major overseas assignment while facing pressure at home. Forelle's comment set out the editorial line as the company works through a slide in ratings and a television operation led by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
For viewers tracking the China coverage, the practical change is straightforward: Dokoupil will be on the ground in Taipei this week, not Beijing, after the visa did not come through in time.
