Katie Bar the Door: Couric to Vacate CBS Anchor Chair, AP Reports

Image by FunnyBiz via FlickrAfter a near five-year stint in the anchor chair formerly occupied by Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, Katie Couric is leaving the CBS Evening News to ready herself for a syndicated talk show in 2012, according to an unconfirmed report by Associated Press.

The 54-year-old Couric, who left NBC's Today  in 2006 for a reported $15 million annual salary, has been unable to pull the Eye Network out of third place among the ever-shrinking audience of network news watchers who favor the broadcasts of NBC's Brian Williams and even ABC's Diane Sawyer. Couric's contract with CBS expires June 4.