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| Katie Couric |
But Katie Couric is reported to be leaving her post as sole anchor at CBSEvening News, less than five years after her high-profile appointment – after she failed to overhaul rival bulletins at NBC and ABC.
The 54-year-old newsreader, who proved a short-lived boost to CBS News ratings, is on the verge of launching a syndicated talkshow,according to AP. Several broadcasters, including her old home NBC, are understood be interested.
However, for the moment, neither Couric or her network is elaborating on what appear to be well sourced rumours. But the absence of a formal denial is telling.
A spokeswoman for CBS News said: "We're having ongoing discussions with Katie Couric. We have no announcements to make at this time. Until we do, we will continue to decline comment on rumour or speculation."
Couric was unveiled as the new presenter of CBS News in a blaze of publicity in September 2006. Her arrival from NBC's morning show Today was part of a wider refresh of the CBS News format, including a publicity campaign said to have cost millions of dollars.
Couric became the face of a network trying to transform a news bulletin that had fallen behind rivals in the last days of veteran Dan Rather. Initially, the plan worked. Millions of new viewers flocked to CBS's evening bulletin to see what all the fuss was about.
After a few weeks, however, the ratings settled down, and CBS News was reinstated as the third most-popular network newscast, behind NBC's Nightly News and ABC's World News.
Although Couric's helm at CBS News appears to be over, the CBS network remains the most likely home for any syndicated chatshow. No departure date has been set for Couric yet, but the veteran journalist's CBS contract expires on 4 June – meaning that if she leaves then she will miss out on covering the next presidential election.
Sources: http://www.guardian.co.uk
