I have earned a well-won reputation as a cheerleader for those from my city and state. I want to see locals do well, so as a journalist and Marylander, I am pulling for Severna Park High School graduate and brand-new “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil.

The problem is that after a watching several of his newscasts — some of which weren’t bad — and reading statements he’s made about his intentions, I’m not clear exactly what that job is.

Dokoupil was already up against scrutiny before taking the desk. His move from the “CBS Mornings” team to nighttime anchor was part of the network’s remodeling by new Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, whose selection to the top job has faced scrutiny in some journalistic circles.

That is not to say he hasn’t earned some criticism all on his own.

His mission statement for the broadcast leaned heavily into what I find a disturbing trend in this society, from news to our own government: insisting that inexperienced people are more qualified than those who actually know what they’re doing.

Dokoupil said that viewers don’t trust the media, in part, “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.”

I don’t know, my guy. I would much rather hear from experts than some man at a Midwest diner who has never lived anywhere else but has big thoughts on the mayorship of New York. I am all for shaking up the ranks of those experts and pundits who get interviewed. Can we stop asking conservative political pundits like non-American citizen Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary and Scott Jennings and his maddening smirk anything? Ever again? But in this terrifying time, we need more knowledge, not less.

Dokoupil also got into a weird controversy with a dead man, who happens to be “CBS Evening News” anchor and America’s news grandpa Walter Cronkite. According to The Daily Beast, where Dokoupil used to work, an Instagram user mentioned the universally respected late journalist and opined that “CBS has lost its Tiffany shine.” The new anchor responded, “What did you love most about him? I can promise you we’ll be more accountable and more transparent than Cronkite or anyone else of his era.”

Umm … what? Those are not only huge and hallowed boots to fill, but why is Cronkite of all people catching strays? And how can Dokoupil claim transparency when his boss pulled a “60 Minutes” story last-minute about alleged abuses at the Salvadoran detention center where the United States sent Venezuelan detainees because the White House hadn’t commented, among other things?

Dokoupil’s gotten off to a rough start, beginning in his Monday night broadcast, where he was visibly flustered when the chyron showed the wrong picture for a story he was trying to transition to. Then there was the uneven bit that was ostensibly about memes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in different uniforms because of his many jobs within the administration. But it was really an awkward and journalistically sketchy “attaboy” for a politician whom his news organization is already seen by some as beholden to.

“Whatever you think of his politics, you’ve got to admit, it’s an impressive resume‚” Dokoupil said.

Do we? Do we have to admit that a person who seems to often not tell the truth is impressive? Dokoupil ended the segment by saying, “Marco Rubio, we salute you. You’re the ultimate Florida man.” Not only is that naked flattery, but does the anchor, who lived in Miami as a child, know that “Florida Man” is usually not a compliment?

The worst part of this so far is that his missteps have overshadowed some solid journalism. He repeatedly grilled border czar Tom Homan on the day an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a female motorist in Minneapolis, an incident that has roiled the nation.

Homan said he hadn’t seen evidence that the agency acted inappropriately, but the anchor told Homan that most Americans who saw the videos of people being tackled and tear gassed around the nation would have questions. Dokoupil also pressed Homan on how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem could quickly pronounce victim Renee Nicole Good a “domestic terrorist” without any investigation.

That showed me Dokoupil is a sharp interviewer when he wants to be, not counting his hostile, inflammatory “CBS Mornings” conversation with fellow Marylander Ta-Nehisi Coates. And he’s willing to challenge those in power, even in the Trump administration. That’s a good thing.

His shows so far have been hit or miss because I’m not sure what the end goal is. Part of Dokoupil’s first few weeks in the anchor chair will see him traveling around the country to talk to Americans about their own stories. His talks with Venezuelans in Miami’s Doral neighborhood about the U.S.’ intervention in their country? Informative. But choosing on his Dallas leg to feature Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones was just weird if you’re trying to avoid the elite.

My favorite part was when Jones, addressing the recent raise for the team’s famous cheerleaders, said it was “never about the money” for the dancers. That’s easy to say when you’re worth a reported $21 billion. That obvious moment went unchallenged by Dokoupil, because the point of his piece wasn’t a critical or in-depth look at the billionaire. It was, “Dude’s got a helicopter! How cool is this?”

What would he do in Maryland? Talk to Baltimore residents about their lives, or hang out at the Sagamore distillery with rich guy Kevin Plank?

It’s early, and as a journalist who loves what I do, I’m hopeful that we get more moments like the Homan interview. But I’m just not sure that can happen on a program that creates puff pieces saluting current politicians and promises to favor the opinions of an audience beset with misinformation over those in the know.

I’m rooting for the guy. But I don’t know how much longer I can hold these pompoms.