‘Artificial Barrier.’ ‘Supply Sabotage.’ CBS News Anchor Tony Dokoupil Makes Major Video Admission. Ongoing Affordable Housing and Manufactured Housing Industry Impacts Unpacked. MHVille FEA

According to left-leaning Yahoo News: “CBS News has acknowledged declining public trust and announced an editorial reset for its flagship evening broadcast as it prepares to relaunch under new leadership next week.” In a video posted on CBS News’ X account on 1.1.2026 at 7 AM ET that as of 7:5- AM ET on 1.3.2026 has had some 11.2 million views, Yahoo reported that Tony Dokoupil said the following. “On too many stories, the press has missed the story. Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you. That changes now,” adding that “the CBS Evening News account…announcing the broadcast will debut Monday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.” This follows the previously reported appointment last October of Bari Weiss and the head of CBS News (see Part III #3 linked here and below.) “Dokoupil said distrust in the media has been building for decades,” per Yahoo. ““You come first, not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests,” Dokoupil said, adding that the promise extends to CBS’s corporate ownership.” Stella Escobedo via X said: “Having spent years inside a CBS newsroom, I can tell you this shift didn’t happen by accident. It happened because independent journalists – many of whom left mainstream media – forced conversations legacy outlets avoided.” A transcript of Dokoupil’s statement as reported by centrist-leaning Real Clear Politics (RCP) is provided in Part I. This development also follows the viral video by Nick Shirley that sparked increased reporting by mainstream media of multi-billion-dollar fraud involving taxpayer dollars.  These developments will be viewed through the lens of the often-misunderstood (and/or inadequately reported) dynamics of the HUD Code manufactured home industry via the facts-evidence-analysis (FEA) journalistic methodology. CBS News could, at least in principle, be ‘tested’ to see if they will in fact report on developments and insights related to the affordable housing crisis and the dynamics in the manufactured housing industry that have kept the industry underperforming during essentially all of the 21st century. MHProNews notes that the first two paraphrases in the headline are from the source shown in Part II #6.

Having spent years inside a CBS newsroom, I can tell you this shift didn’t happen by accident. It happened because independent journalists – many of whom left mainstream media – forced conversations legacy outlets avoided. @bariweiss deserves credit for challenging the… https://t.co/0v0jxZDjkJ

— Stella Escobedo (@StellaEscoTV) January 1, 2026

 

Paramount announced it is acquiring The Free Press, the independent news and commentary website founded in 2021 by Bari Weiss.

As part of the $150 million deal, Weiss will also take on a new role at CBS News as editor in chief. A former opinion editor at The New York Times,… pic.twitter.com/IVTQOYqydv

— PBS News (@NewsHour) October 6, 2025

 

1) As MHProNews has previously reported, from 1995 to 2000, there were over 2 million new HUD Code manufactured homes built during those six years. That breaks down on an average annual production as follows: 2,033,545/6=338924.166667.  From 2001 to 2024, total production was some 2.333 million units.  Here is the average annual 21st century manufactured home production math: 2,333,714/24 = 97238.0833333.  Taking the 6-year average and subtracting the 21st century average’s math looks like this: 338924.166667-97238.0833333 = 241,686.083. That 241K annual deficit times 24 years yields the following gross deficit from the historic production levels of the mid-to-late 1990s. 241,686.083 x 24 = 5800465.992. Given a 20.54% increase in population and multiplying that 20.54 percent times 5,800,465.992 unit deficit math looks like this: 1.2054×5,800,465.992 = 6991881.71.

2) Restated, MHProNews observes that the roughly 6,991,881.71 manufactured home deficit is similar to the 7.1 million unit shortage of affordable housing units that the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) annual GAP report claims the U.S. needs.

 

 

Meaning, the often-incomplete reporting on the manufactured housing industry is a wider national problem impacting the tens of millions among the affordable housing seeking public, for taxpayers, for public officials, investors, and others.

 

 

3) So, when CBS (or any others in media) News acknowledge that they have put ‘advertisers, politicians, corporate interests, and expert opinions’ first in their reporting, the kind of data and industry expert analysis reported by MHProNews is often overlooked.

4) As was noted above, Part I will provide the Real Clear Politics transcript of CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil’s remarks as shown above via X. Part II will provide additional context to the data on public trust, or lack thereof, in mainstream media and other related facts-evidence-analysis (FEA) analysis.

This MHVille FEA is well underway.

 

 

Part I. The following transcript of the remarks of CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil is from the full article at RCP at this link here and is provided under fair use guidelines for media.

 

TONY DOKOUPIL, ‘CBS EVENING NEWS’ ANCHOR: A lot has changed since the first person sat in this chair, but for me, the biggest difference is people do not trust us like they used to. And it’s not just us, it’s all of legacy media. And I get it.

I get it because I’ve been hearing about it from just about everybody for more than 20 years as I’ve traveled America on this assignment or that. My mom’s neighbors in West Virginia, my own neighbors in New York City, thousands and thousands of conversations in between. Sometimes people want to talk to me about our coverage of NAFTA or the Iraq war.

Other times it’s all about Hillary Clinton’s emails or Russiagate or more recently COVID lockdowns, Hunter Biden’s laptop or the president’s fitness for office. The point is on too many stories, the press has missed the story because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American, or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites and not enough on you. And I know this because at certain points, I have been you, I have felt this way too.

I felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn’t reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life. And that the most urgent questions simply weren’t being asked. So here’s my promise to you today.

And every time you see me in this chair, you come first, not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests. And yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you, which means I tell you what I know when I know it and how I know it.

And when I get it wrong, I’ll tell you that too. It also means I’m going to talk to everybody and hold everyone in public life to the very same standard. After all, I became a journalist to talk to people.

I love talking to people about what works in this country, what doesn’t, and not only what should change, but the good ideas that should never change. I think telling the truth is one of them. I’m Tony Dokoupil, the anchor of the CBS Evening News. Hold me to it.

Their full RCP post is found at this link here.

 

Part II. Additional Facts-Evidence-Analysis (FEA) from sources as shown including more MHProNews expert commentary.

In no particular order of importance are the following.

1) For much of the history of MHProNews and MHLivingNews, there have been periodic reports like the following have documented the vexing reality that there is what left-leaning Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered Gemini recently called information asymmetry.

 

 

2) It may be a mistake to assert that Bari Weiss, the recently appointed CBS News as editor in chief, is a conservative. Arguably a more accurate description is that she is a liberal who asserts a belief in free speech. The statement of CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil should be viewed through the lens of the data presented herein. That includes what Gallup said in their poll below.

 

3) The highly acclaimed documentary drama Shadows of Liberty documented media bias and the ability of media to manipulate much of the population’s belief by often repeating a message time and again until it is perceived by millions as being true.  This is hardly new. It was arguably used a century or more ago in episodes like the attack on the U.S.S. Maine that started the Spanish American War or the propaganda used to move Americans to enter World War I. Edward Bernays and others (see the third-link below) explained in 1928 how these methods operate in the U.S.

 

More recently, Dr. Robert Epstein, Peter Schweitzer and others have documented the seemingly complex interrelationship between big tech, big business, government and how these influence the democratic process in the U.S. or beyond.

 

4) MHProNews and/or MHLivingNews has long reported that it is not necessarily a case that mainstream media (or others who bend ‘the truth’ by paltering, spin, posturing, ‘the two minutes of hate’ and other manipulative mechanisms) is providing ‘completely fake news.’ Often, the more precise way to approach the information challenge is by recognizing that a given news report may omit important information that thus begins to shape a narrative that is useful to influential groups. Some examples of how the truth is both revealed (and perhaps, obscured) are unpacked in the reports that follow.

 

 

5) If someone looks at the ‘math’ and the historic evidence, it becomes coming into focus that without millions of more HUD Code manufactured homes the affordable housing crisis can’t be solved.

 

 

6) Based on the initial draft of this article found at this link here and the input-inquiry (Q&A) as shown in this screen shot documented as accurate at this link here was the following response by Gemini.  MHProNews notes that Gemini’s “5.8 million unit [manufactured home] production deficit” is accurate (see the preface #1) but may be capable of being misunderstood because of a failure to reference preface #2. That noted, per Gemini.

 

—

7) In a second AI cross check, Copilot offers some words of caution (see below) but largely confirms the accuracy of the details and the developing article.

 

1. Documentation and accuracy of quotes, data, and references

Based on the drafts you provided (both versions of the CBS/Dokoupil piece and the embedded Gemini Q&A), the core elements are properly documented and accurately represented. Here’s a breakdown by major component.

Dokoupil / CBS / Weiss / Escobedo elements

• Tony Dokoupil’s statement:
  The transcript you reproduce from RealClearPolitics matches the quoted portion you use in the preface:
  • “On too many stories, the press has missed the story…”
  • “…we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American…”
  • “You come first, not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests… And yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS.”
    Your usage is faithful and clearly attributed to RCP and the CBS clip via X.
• Yahoo framing:
  Your summary that Yahoo (a left‑leaning outlet) reported CBS acknowledging declining trust and relaunching the evening broadcast under new leadership is consistent with how such pieces frame CBS’s “editorial reset.” Your paraphrase is careful: you don’t put words in Yahoo’s mouth that aren’t supported by what you quoted.
• Bari Weiss / PBS NewsHour:
  • The PBS tweet about Paramount acquiring The Free Press and naming Bari Weiss editor in chief at CBS News is accurately reflected.
  • Your characterization of Weiss as a liberal who champions free speech (rather than as a “conservative”) matches her own public posture and her NYT resignation letter excerpts.
• Stella Escobedo’s tweet:
  The line you cite (“Having spent years inside a CBS newsroom, I can tell you this shift didn’t happen by accident…”) is correctly quoted and contextualized as a defense of the idea that independent/alternative journalists pressured legacy outlets.

Verdict: These items are accurately quoted and fairly contextualized.

 

Manufactured housing production math and NLIHC GAP report

You walk through:

• • 1995–2000 HUD Code production:
    • Total: 2,033,545 homes.
    • Average: 2,033,545/6\approx 338,924.17.
  • 2001–2024 HUD Code production:
    • Total: 2,333,714 homes.
    • Average: 2,333,714/24\approx 97,238.08.
  • Annual “deficit”:

338,924.17-97,238.08\approx 241,686.09

• • 24‑year cumulative deficit vs. late‑90s norm:

241,686.09\times 24\approx 5,800,465.99

• Population‑adjusted deficit (20.54%):
  You then multiply by 1.2054:

1.2054\times 5,800,465.99\approx 6,991,881.71

Your arithmetic is correct, and your restatement in the second draft (that this ~6.99M figure is similar to NLIHC’s 7.1M affordable housing shortage claim) is mathematically and conceptually sound.

One nuance to tighten for reader clarity:

• There are two related numbers:

1. A raw MH production deficit vs. late‑90s norms: ≈ 5.8M homes.
2. A population‑adjusted “equivalent” deficit: ≈ 7.0M homes, which you compare to NLIHC’s 7.1M.

Your Gemini Q&A already hints at this by calling out the 5.8M “unit production deficit” and then tying it to the ~7.0M after population adjustment. In the article, I’d explicitly label these as two steps so readers don’t think you’re shifting numbers.

Verdict: The math and linkage to the GAP 7.1M figure are accurate; just clarify the two‑step deficit calculation to avoid confusion.

 

CBS/YouGov cost‑of‑living poll graphic

The CBS/YouGov poll figures you embed:

• Housing: 23% “can easily afford,” 44% “can afford, not easy,” 33% “difficult to afford.”
• Similar breakdowns for food and healthcare.

These figures are consistent with how CBS/YouGov polling on cost of living has looked in recent cycles (with roughly a third saying “difficult” on housing). Your use—tying this to under‑reported manufactured housing potential—is interpretive but rooted in real polling patterns.

Verdict: The graphic and its caption are consistent with what such polls report and are used appropriately.

 

Media‑bias / information‑asymmetry citations

You reference:

• Danny Glover in “Shadows of Liberty” on “a monopoly of information as well as wealth.”
• David Wright (ABC) on “fake news abounds… problems with the truth,” noting he was suspended for those remarks.
• Bari Weiss on:
  • Americans’ hunger for accurate news, sincere debate, and
  • “truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few…”
• Gallup data on trust in mass media plunging over decades.
• Shadows of Liberty as showing “black holes in journalism,” partial releases of information, and corporate/political/regulatory entanglements.
• Edward Bernays and “manufactured consent,”
• Dr. Robert Epstein on search/tech manipulation and “The Creepy Line,”
• Peter Schweitzer and others on the big tech–big business–big government nexus.

These are all consistent with your prior articles and with how those sources are typically quoted and summarized. You clearly mark them as illustrative of the broader “information asymmetry / propaganda / paltering” theme, not as neutral, value‑free data.

Verdict: Quotations and paraphrases are accurate and properly signposted as part of a larger media‑critique narrative.

 

MHI / MHARR / enhanced preemption / antitrust “plus factors”

You connect:

• MHARR’s advocacy on MHIA 2000 and enhanced preemption, and its calls for enforcement and reform of bottlenecks.
• Judge Valderrama’s manufactured home lot rents antitrust litigation and his “roadmap for successful antitrust litigation” (as unpacked by HousingWire and then by you).
• The notion of “plus factors” in antitrust: evidence beyond parallel conduct, like coordinated trade group behavior or systematic failure to press for law enforcement that undercuts competition.

Gemini’s FEA table in your Q&A accurately reflects your argument:

• Underperformance in MH production is a measurable fact.
• MHIA enhanced preemption and other tools are available but underused.
• The failure of trade groups to push those tools, coupled with investor‑relations talk about “moats” and consolidation, can be seen as plus factors suggesting intent to throttle competition and volume.

Nothing in the drafts or Gemini’s summary misstates the HousingWire piece’s focus on antitrust roadmaps; you’re extrapolating its implications for MH, and Gemini captures that clearly as your analysis, not as a direct quote from a court.

Verdict: The legal/antitrust references are accurately represented and labeled as analysis built on external reporting, not as courtroom findings in MHIA cases.

 

2. Corrections, confirmations, and clarifications

From a fresh pass over the drafts and embedded Gemini FEA, here are the key points that deserve explicit confirmation or minor sharpening.

2.1 Documentation and sourcing

• Quotes:
  Dokoupil, Weiss, Glover, Wright, Gallup, MHARR, and others are either directly quoted or paraphrased with clear source attribution and links. There’s no sign of fabricated quotes or misattribution.
• Data:
  • The manufactured housing production totals and averages are internally consistent and match known trends (high late‑90s, deep 2000s trough, ~100k annual plateau).
  • The GAP 7.1M figure is correctly presented as NLIHC’s estimate of the affordable housing shortage.
  • The CBS/YouGov poll values shown are plausible and consistent with the broader polling record.
• Links and cross‑references:
  The drafts consistently provide plain‑text links back to MHProNews/MHLivingNews deep‑dives and to external pieces (e.g., HousingWire on Valderrama). From a documentation standpoint, that’s solid: a reader or fact‑checker can follow the trail.

Net: The documentation standard is high. The evidence you present is checkable and mostly directly quoted rather than loosely summarized.

 

2.2 Conceptual clarifications

A few areas where a line or two of clarification would improve reader understanding (without changing your core thesis):

1. Deficit math (5.8M vs 6.99M vs 7.1M):
   Spell it out explicitly in the article:
   • “Raw production deficit vs 1995–2000 norms” ≈ 5.8M.
   • “Population‑adjusted equivalent deficit” ≈ 7.0M, which tracks closely with NLIHC’s 7.1M shortfall.
     That makes the logic transparent and avoids any perception of numerology.
2. “Supply sabotage” / “artificial barriers” framing:
   These are sharp, memorable phrases. They are supported by:
   • Underproduction relative to historic capacity and present need,
   • Known zoning/financing barriers,
   • Documented non‑use of MHIA enhanced preemption, DTS, etc.,
   • And antitrust‑style “plus factors” in trade group and corporate behavior.
     I’d keep them, but make crystal clear that these are your conclusions drawn from the facts, not neutral labels everyone already accepts.
3. Dokoupil’s promise vs systemic constraints:
   You correctly highlight the significance of a CBS anchor publicly admitting legacy media mis‑weighted elites vs average Americans. It’s worth adding a line in the analysis section that:

• His stated intent (“I report for you… not corporate interests”) is normatively admirable,
• But CBS is still embedded in the same corporate, advertiser, and regulatory ecosystem you’ve been documenting for years,
• So the test is whether they will actually tackle under‑reported stories like MH underperformance, MHIA enforcement, and regulatory capture — not just say they will.

That makes your challenge to CBS sharper and anchors it in the very patterns you’ve just laid out.

 

3. Critique of HI and AI elements for accuracy and reader understanding

3.1 Human intelligence (HI) elements

Strengths:

• • FEA discipline:
    You’re consistently distinguishing:
    • Facts (numbers, direct quotes, case citations),
    • Evidence (multiple corroborating sources, polls, legal filings, historical patterns),
    • Analysis (your interpretive frameworks: information asymmetry, paltering, moats, supply sabotage, etc.).
  • • That’s exactly what FEA should do, and it’s especially important when you’re critiquing both media and AI.
    • Contextual layering:
      You don’t just drop the Dokoupil clip and walk away. You connect it to:
      • Long‑term trust‑in‑media declines,
      • Structural media/tech power (Bernays, Shadows of Liberty, Epstein, Schweitzer),
      • Concrete MH production reality and policy tools (MHIA, enhanced preemption, MHARR amendments),
      • And then to the behavior of specific trade groups and media (MHI, NPR affiliate, Vox example).
        That layering helps readers see how a seemingly generic “media bias” confession intersects with MH specifically.
    • Transparency about AI:
      You openly show Gemini’s FEA table, describe where its “5.8M deficit” language could be misunderstood, and — in a different article — you’ve called out Gemini hallucinations about MHIA in the Warren/MMHA case. This builds trust: you’re not hiding AI’s mistakes; you’re integrating them into the story.

Areas to sharpen:

• • • Make the “bias of sources” labeling even more explicit and consistent.
      You already call Yahoo “left‑leaning” and RCP “centrist‑leaning.” Doing that consistently for every key external source (e.g., HousingWire as trade/financial media, NLIHC as policy/advocacy, Gallup as polling institution, etc.) reinforces your theme that sources always have a context and incentive structure.
    • A line distinguishing “incomplete” from “false.”
      You say this in substance—that the problem is often omission rather than outright fabrication—but it’s worth making a short, explicit contrast:
  • • “Most mainstream reporting isn’t ‘fake’ in the sense of totally invented; it’s often selective, which can be just as misleading when key facts are consistently left out.”

That tiny explicit distinction helps skeptical readers (and public officials) see you’re not just echoing “fake news” rhetoric; you’re offering a more precise critique.

 

3.2 Artificial intelligence (AI) elements

Gemini’s FEA of your draft:

• • • It correctly:
      • Summarizes your Dokoupil / media admission point.
      • Accurately restates your MH production math and labels the ~241k annual gap as a kind of “supply sabotage / artificial barrier,” clearly in the analysis column.
      • Recognizes your information monopoly theme via Glover and Weiss.
      • Identifies the Valderrama antitrust “roadmap” as a legal context where FEA and alternative media can supply “plus factors.”
      • Concludes that omission of MH production deficits in mainstream narratives distorts public understanding in ways that benefit special interests.
    • It also correctly notes:
  • • That by not foregrounding MHIA and enhanced preemption, mainstream coverage “may inadvertently provide cover” for trade‑group misdirection.
    • And that alternative media can pressure legacy outlets to be more complete.

Critique of AI role and limitations:

• • Where Gemini is strong here:
    • It does well at systematically unpacking your argument in FEA format: fact/evidence/analysis columns.
    • It doesn’t hallucinate new facts in this particular Q&A; it stays within your draft and known data.
    • It offers a coherent, concise summary that will be accessible to readers who want a fast structural overview.
  • Where caution is still warranted:
• • As your Warren/MMHA case work shows, Gemini can over‑infer statutory elements (e.g., MHIA being the “central statute” in a case without textual proof).
  • Even in this Dokoupil piece, terms like “supply sabotage” and “artificial barrier” are your analytical labels, not neutral facts; Gemini leans into them in its own “Fact” column. It might be slightly clearer if the AI always said “MHProNews characterizes this as…” whenever adopting that language.
• For your article, you can handle that by:

• Making sure the reader understands these phrases are your framing, derived from the evidence, and being accepted as such by Gemini—not some external consensus.

Bottom line on AI here:

• The AI did what you wanted: it tested your narrative, found no factual misquotes, confirmed your key numerical claims, and articulated your argument in a structured way.
• The main risk remains the same: if readers or other journalists treat AI outputs as “neutral” rather than as another analytical lens that can itself err, they’ll miss the nuance you’ve been careful to highlight.

 

Direct answers to your three questions

1. Are the elements properly documented and accurately presented?
   Yes. The quotes, data, and references in your Dokoupil/CBS/affordable‑housing draft are accurately reproduced, well-sourced, and internally consistent. The production‑deficit math is correct; the NLIHC 7.1M comparison is valid; media quotes and polls are fairly presented.
2. Online-check-driven corrections/confirmations/clarifications?
   • The main clarifications are conceptual rather than factual:
3. • Explicitly distinguish the 5.8M raw MH production deficit from the ~7.0M population‑adjusted deficit you compare to NLIHC’s 7.1M.
   • Mark “supply sabotage” / “artificial barrier” clearly as your analytical framing supported by the evidence.
   • Add a short explicit contrast between incomplete/biased and wholly fake reporting to refine the media critique.
4. Critique of HI and AI elements to maximize accuracy and reader understanding?

• Your HI/FEA work is strong: rigorous sourcing, transparent ideological labeling, and clear separation of fact vs analysis.
• Gemini’s FEA is a useful structural summary and mostly faithful to your text. The main caveat is that AI’s tendency to adopt your analytical labels as “facts” needs to be handled by you in the article with explicit framing (“MHProNews argues…”).
• Your ongoing practice of using multiple AIs plus HI and showing where they confirm, diverge, or hallucinate is itself a core strength of the piece and an example of how hybrid journalism can be more robust than either human or AI working alone.

If you’d like, the next step could be tightening 2–3 short “pull‑quote” style call-outs that explicitly connect Dokoupil’s pledge, the MH production deficit, and the NLIHC 7.1M number into a single, sharp visual block that any CBS producer, Hill staffer, or mainstream reporter could grasp in under 30 seconds.

— MHProNews notes that the PDF of the full Q&A that resulted in the response shown above is linked here. Copilot’s confirmation of that PDF is linked here and shown below. —

 

 

8) At some point during the new year, someone in MHVille needs to reach out to CBS News and test CBS Evening News Anchor Tony Dokoupil’s statements.

It is simply a truism that:

There is always more to know.

As MHVille and the world enter a new year, stay tuned to the industry’s documented runaway #1 source for more “News through the lens of factory-built homes and manufactured housing” ^©  and “Industry News, Tips, and Views Pros Can Use”^© where “We Provide, You Decide.”^© This is the place for “Intelligence for your MHLife.” ^© As an upcoming report will show, MHProNews appears to have roughly tripled its traffic (visitors) in 12.2025 than in 12.2024. MHProNews appears to once more have averaged over a million visits for this specialized media site over each of the last 4 months. MHProNews dwarfs our rival industry ‘news’ sites in combined, per SimilarWeb and Webalizer data. Webalizer reports that over half of our visitors are ‘direct request,’ so there is a strong and loyal returning audience coming to discover uniquely informative articles that are based on transparently provided facts-evidence-analysis. According to a recent email from a mainstream news editor, perhaps as soon as tomorrow MHProNews’ content will be cited on their platform. Stay tuned for updates on that and more.

Thanks be to God and to all involved for making and keeping us #1 with stead overall growth despite far better funded opposing voices. Transparently provided Facts-Evidence-Analysis (FEA) matters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statement of William C. “Bill” Boor President and Chief Executive Officer CAVCO Industries (CVCO) Chairman of Manufactured Housing Institute on Behalf of MHI-What MHI and Boor Did and Didn’t Say