Couric: Early Exit Talk Was 'Taken Out of Context'

How close did CBS and Katie Couric come to parting ways? Last April, you'll recall, The Wall Street Journal reported that an early departure from the Evening News anchor chair was all but a done deal, with Couric's exit possibly coming soon after the presidential inauguration.

At the time, CBS waved off the report as "speculative," leading the Observer to dismiss it as "fake news"; The New York Times, meanwhile, suggested that, somehow, the Journal's premature scoop "may or may not have...ensured Ms. Couric's early departure."

Let's go with "may not have." For now, it doesn't look like Couric is going anywhere. But it does sound like there was a measure of fire behind last April's smoke, judging from an interview she gave Portfolio's Sheelah Kolhatkar. After weaving around several questions about the reports of an early exit, Couric finally gave this answer:

Like any person, I want to make sure people are happy with the job I'm doing, and there are ongoing con­versations about whether we are doing the right kind of show. There was a feel­ing a while ago that it was a fairly confining format for me, so we've had discussions about that. But I think during the election cycle we really broke out in an important way, and our coverage was certainly praised, so I think we -- "we" meaning the Evening News folks -- are feeling very great about the product. Those stories were so twisted and taken out of context. That's all I want to say about it.