Katie Couric Leaves NBC to Become First Solo Female Anchor of a Major Network Evening Newscast

Katie Couric, the longtime co-host of NBC's morning program 'Today,' announced Wednesday that she is departing the network to join CBS News, where she will serve as anchor and managing editor of the CBS evening news beginning in September. She will also contribute to the newsmagazine program '60 Minutes.'

The move makes Couric, 49, the first woman to anchor a major network's flagship evening news program on her own. Reports indicated she accepted a salary reduction from her NBC earnings of roughly 15 million dollars annually to complete the deal. CBS offered no comment on her compensation.

CBS had been without a permanent evening news anchor since Dan Rather stepped down the previous year, with veteran commentator Bob Schieffer filling the role in the interim. CBS president Leslie Moonves called Couric 'one of the best in the business.'

Couric began her broadcast career in 1979 as a news assistant at ABC's Washington bureau and joined NBC a decade later. All three major networks have faced declining evening news audiences in recent years due to growing competition from cable television and online news sources.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.