Less than 5 years after becoming the first female network evening news anchor, Katie Couric is calling it quits.
Couric’s move from NBC’s “Today” show was big news in 2006. But her brief stint with CBS was quickly lambasted as soft and too “talk-showy” while Couric herself was criticized for lacking the journalistic gravitas to be a network anchor. But it was her hard pressing questions to GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that at least put Couric on the map. Still, she always seemed out of her element in a traditional news format, and the “CBS Evening News” has consistently been in 3rd place in the ratings, well behind leader Brian Williams at NBC’s “Nightly News” and 2nd place Diane Sawyer at ABC’s “World News.”
The 54-year-old Couric is expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012 (potentially filling the Oprah Winfrey void) with several companies already vying for her services. No departure date has been set for Couric, whose CBS News contract expires on June 4th.
