Could this    

Replace This?

That's the buzz in medialand, following a bombshell story in the Wall Street Journal alleging CBS anchor Katie Couric has begun negotiating a not-so-graceful exit from the consistently ratings-challenged CBS Evening News. The Los Angeles Times played up CBS' denial, but their statement that they have no plans to change the broadcast doesn't mean they aren't developing them.

All the cost-cutting at local CBS stations recently has led experts to look at Couric's $15-million annual contract and wonder if she's worth the record-low ratings. The WSJ story suggests Couric might take over for 74-year-old CNN stalwart Larry King -- a scenario Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz downplayed -- or that she might land at 60 Minutes, a job with arguably more prestige but much less visibility for a star like Couric.

But the stay at CBS strategy doesn't make sense to me, because it would force her to stay at CBS News after leadership there were forced to make the tremendously huge admission that hiring her for the evening news was a mistake. And if there's a job she is less suited for than anchoring the evening news, it is being a correspondent at the one network news magazine that tries to be substantive and groundbreaking every night of the week.

On the other hand, Couric heading to CNN also presents problems. Cable TV news in primetime has mostly focused on middle-aged white guys as anchors. Replacing Couric with King would present her with the same problem she has now at CBS -- she would be a famous woman struggling to capture a mostly-male audience that doesn't respect or feel drawn to her. And, once again, she'd be doing it with the world's eyes upon her.

If you ask me, and I've been saying this for months now, she would be much more successful as the host of the Early Show. Kurtz offers the next most appealing transition: Couric's emergence as the new Barbara Walters with a syndicated talk show.

Besides, does anyone really want to relive the nightmarish transition we saw in her move to CBS?