Maybe Matt Lauer Can Succeed Mike Wallace, Too

Man, I never thought I would miss Dan Rather...

NBC executives expect Katie Couric to leave the "Today" show and accept an offer from CBS to become the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast on her own, with an announcement of her departure likely as early as this week, according to well-placed sources at both networks and others familiar with the negotiations.

The tentative plan is for a two-step process in which Couric first announces her departure from NBC, which would like to give her a warm send-off after a decade in which she helped make "Today" the top-rated morning program. Meredith Vieira, co-host of ABC's "The View" and host of the syndicated "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," has been offered the job of replacing Couric and is seriously considering it, some of these sources say.

Okay, I now understand that the days of taking network news seriously are over. The next time the mainstream news media claims that they're serious journalists, they need to answer for this one first. I guess the good news is that this means fewer insipid interviews by Couric. The bad news is that it lessens the chances of someone finally spitting on her in an interview.