Katie Couric is leaving her anchor post at the “CBS Evening News” less than five years after becoming the first woman to helm a network TV evening newscast.
A network executive, who asked not to be identified, reported the move to The Associated Press last night. The 54-year-old anchor is expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012.
Couric’s move to CBS News from NBC’s “Today” show was big news in 2006.
She tried to incorporate her strengths as an interviewer into a standard evening news format, and millions of people who normally didn’t watch the news at night checked it out.
But they drifted away and her newscast reverted to a more traditional broadcast.
After a few weeks, the “CBS Evening News” settled into third place in the ratings and is well behind leader Brian Williams at NBC’s “Nightly News” and second-place Diane Sawyer at ABC’s “World News.”
No departure date has been set for Couric, but her CBS contract expires June 4.
The internal candidates under consideration for her job include Russ Mitchell, Scott Pelley and Harry Smith.