CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric is reportedly “very likely” to leave her newscaster position in June as network news chairman Jeff Fager actively searches for her replacement.
According to the Daily Beast, CBS News’ former White House correspondent Scott Pelley is a top contender to replace Couric:
aThe “60 Minutes” correspondent has long been a favorite of Fager, who doubles as the show’s executive producer. But with Fager taking a methodical approach to his first major decision, Pelley is not a lock. A few short weeks ago, the expectation in the Couric camp—after discussions with top CBS management—was that she would sign a new deal to stay in the anchor’s job through the 2012 elections as she figured out the next phase of her career. But the thinking on both sides has now changed as Couric has aggressively tested the waters—and found substantial interest in her services. …
Pelley, a Texan who began his career at a station in Lubbock, is the opposite of a celebrity journalist. A White House correspondent for CBS during the Clinton administration, he landed the first interview with George W. Bush as president-elect. Pelley has reported from around the world, including such war zones as Iraq and Afghanistan. He and his team have won numerous awards, including 15 Emmys, for stories on such subjects as the BP oil spill, civilian deaths in Iraq, and child slavery in India.
While no one would question Pelley’s hard-news credentials, he may lack the flair to boost theCBS Evening News out of third place. But then, he—or whoever the network picks—will be making far less than Couric’s $15 million annual salary.
So what’s up next for the perky morning host-turned-serious new anchor?
Couric recently told late-night host David Letterman that she has “no idea” what might come next for her when her five-year contract deal expires. “I’m figuring out what I want to do,” she said earlier this week.
Howard Kurtz guesses that whatever her next move is, Couric’s next foray in television will likely capitalize on her “interviewing and ad libbing talents.”
She is now exploring daytime or syndication deals—including with CBS, whose chairman, Les Moonves, remains a strong supporter. CBS is hopeful about finding a way to keep Couric, but her team is also talking to her former network, NBC; to ABC, and to Time Warner.
If she is to launch a syndicated program in the fall of 2012, it would debut in the middle of the general election campaign—and the enormous preparation involved in such a launch would be difficult if her day job was as a network anchor.
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