CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil was cut short due to a medical emergency on Wednesday. The video went viral on social media.
“The ‘CBS Evening News’ in Taiwan — not Beijing due to reported visa issues — ended on a bizarre and premature note as someone off-screen collapsed in some sort of medical emergency,” one wrote, while sharing the clip.
The segment started with talks of how President Donald Trump’s visit to China might play out. However, Dokoupil could then be heard saying “Is he okay?,” referring to someone off camera. “We are going to take a quick break, we have a medical emergency here,” he added.
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In the background voices could be heard. One person said “Call the doctor please,” and the host added “We are going to call a doctor.” It was then added that they were signing off on behalf of Dokoupil who was reporting in Taiwan. “We are going to go to break, we will be right back,” it was said.
The news sparked concerns among many.
CBS Evening News: Medical emergency sparks concern
“CBS evening news stopped abruptly live and were calling for a doctor / medical emergency..,” one wrote on X. Another added “A medical emergency on the CBS Evening News just now”.
Some even claimed that Dokoupil had a medical emergency. “Tony Dokoupil just had a medical emergency on live TV. There was a blank shot, and you hear dude in the background say ‘call an ambulance’,” one wrote. However, this is not true, Dokoupil only said they were calling for a doctor, and did not suffer a medical emergency himself.
Another asked “What just happened at the end of CBS news with Tony Dokoupil? Some other guy just said there was a medical emergency and signed off for Tony?”. Yet another said “I’ve seen a lot of strange things on live news, but #CBSEveningNews getting cut off a bit early b/c someone on the team was having a medical emergency is right up there (hope they’re ok, though)”.
Meanwhile CBS provided an update on what happened during the news segment.
CBS Evening News update on medical emergency
CBS Evening News confirmed that the cameraman had suffered a medical emergency. They issued a statement on X.
“Tonight during the final segment of CBS Evening News, our cameraman on set suffered a medical emergency. Thankfully, he’s okay and recovering.”
The medical emergency comes at a time when there were already eyes on CBS News and Dokoupil after it was reported that he would be broadcasting from Taiwan due to failing to secure a visa to China. Semafor reported on the development, citing sources, but the reason for Dokoupil failing to obtain a Chinese visa was not clarified.
“The democratic state is at the center of the high stakes talks as China’s geopolitical tensions with Taiwan run high. Dokoupil reports on what’s at stake and why it matters for Americans,” the CBS News press release on Dokoupil’s coverage noted.
