Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer has a lengthy article, written by TV reporter Gail Shister, about the speculation flowing around CBS that the network has already given up on Katie Couric, and will shift her off the CBS Evening News after the 2008 presidential election.

Apparently, according to Shister, there's a "growing feeling" around the Eye Network that it was a mistake to insert Couric in the anchor role and that the news division would be better served having her in a different role than anchor of their signature program. "It's a disaster. Everybody knows it's not working. CBS may not cut her loose, but I guarantee you, somebody's thinking about it. We're all hunkered down, waiting for the other shoe to drop," says one of the many anonymous correspondents and staffers that talked to Shister for the article.

When Elizabeth Vargas stepped down from her job anchoring World News Tonight, many felt that she was forced to do it by ABC higher-ups because of an unfortunate confluence of poor ratings, Bob Woodruff's injury and her unexpected pregnancy. The pregnancy angle riled up lots of people, including feminist groups such as NOW. In fact, these groups publicly criticized the network, even bringing in its treatment of the Geena Davis-led Commander-in-Chief into their tirades (talk about going a step too far...).

But Vargas insists that the decision to give up the WNT anchor chair was hers. In fact, as she tells Gail Shister of the Philadelphia Inquirer, "I played a crucial and active role in this decision. It's the best thing for me and my family and my career right now... . I have no complaints." She still wants to anchor a five-day-per-week show in some capacity -- maybe even in the mornings -- but she won't even attempt to do so until both her kids are a little older.

[via Mediabistro]