Her new syndicated show reportedly will launch in 2012 –after Katie bolts the ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor chair she’s held for almost five years!

Katie Couric — who broke through the glass ceiling of network news as the first woman to go solo as the face of a nightly newscast — will be following in the pioneering footsteps of Oprah Winfrey to start a new daytime talk show, The Associated Press reports.

Katie shunned a new contract package from CBS that would have included a daytime show and a regular slot on 60 Minutes, according to the New York Post.

Her big move comes as a bit of shock — until quite recently Katie was thought to be ready to stick with CBS News until the 2012 presidential election.

Katie made history in 2006 when she left NBC’s Today Show to take over the CBS anchor desk as the permanent replacement for Dan Rather. Her ratings were strong at the start but she faded to third place in the nightly battle with behind Brian Williams on NBC and Diane Sawyer on ABC.

Now, with Oprah’s daytime program — syndicated by CBS — winding down as the Oprah Winfrey Network as been launched on cable, Katie hopes to fill the gap Oprah is leaving behind.

Katie, who has battled sexism her whole career, has long been described as “perky.” In an interview scheduled to appear in The New York Times Magazine this Sunday, Katie is asked about her “current relationship with the word.”

“It meant shallow and cute, but not somebody who had any depth,” Katie says. “It did become a pejorative word, but listen, it’s better than ‘bitchy.’ “

No one has been named to replace Katie at CBS News — and there are no women among the few top names being floated!

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A-list actresses, comedians, singers and newscasters came out in droves Sept. 10 for a singular cause — cancer. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Renee Zellweger, Ryan Seacrest and Seth Rogan worked the phone banks for an hour and a half taking donations while artists like Stevie Wonder, Natasha Bedingfield and Martina McBride sang in the background.

What did you miss by watching the special on TV? For starters, Reese Witherspoon‘s, “the dishes can wait – pick up the phone” segment was pre-taped, as was George Clooney‘s. Ditto for Lady Antebellum and Green Day singer Billy Joe Armstrong‘s performances — both of which I was completely bummed to not have seen live. Luckily, we got some epic performances from Heart, Michael Jackson‘s prodigy Orianthi, Stevie, Natasha, Martina, Leona Lewis, The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and Australian songbird/cancer survivor Delta Goodrem (I could have happily lived without Neil Diamond or Kris Kristofferson); I even dug the cheesy song created purposefully for Stand Up 2 Cancer — which you can probably by on iTunes for a price.

Otherwise, the slew of celebs really behaved. So boring! Elizabeth Banks was the mouthiest, cracking jokes repeatedly with her Zack & Miri co-star Seth Rogan while So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley palled around with Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney. Ryan Seacrest chatted to Dr. Mehmet Oz and Kelly Osbourne, while Renee repeatedly mouthed things at her pal, Gwyneth. Rob Lowe, Renee and Seth were all chastised for not picking up their phones on time. Poor pregnant Christina Applegate had had enough by the time the show ended at 6:30 PM PST — the grouchy mama-to-be took off from the event, held at Sony Studios in Culver City, Calif. holding her belly and complaining of exhaustion.

The afterparty was MUCH more fun! Stevie Wonder walked in with new BFF Natasha Bedingfield, while David Archuleta held court in a corner with several young female fans; guests munched on cheese, crackers and a variety of yummy chocolate-dipped fruit while drinking champagne and Grey Goose cocktails.

Who else attended this monster celeb event? Check it out, BFFS!

Anne Heche, David Archuleta, Jaime King, Sally Field, Sanjay Gupta, Bill Heder, Vanessa Hudgens, Cheryl Hines, Seth Macfarlane, Kristen Bell, Jennifer Grey, Drew Pinksy, Christina Applegate, Idris Elbra, Nia Vardalos, Drew Pinksy, Brenda Song, Marissa Jarrett Winokour, Randy Jackson, Apolo Ohno, Dylan McDermott, Eva LaRue, Diane Lane, Tony Hawk, Emily Deschanel, Katie Couric, Sam Trammell, Brian Williams, Kelly Osbourne, Zachary Levi, Jay Leno, Ray Liotta, Cindy Crawford.

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Did you tune in for Diane’s “World News” debut?

Hey, Diane Sawyer — congratulations on your new gig as anchor of “World News Tonight!” Your first night on the job earned you about 8.9 million viewers, according to Fast Affiliate Nielsen data, which means you beat out Katie Couric on CBS (she got 5.9 million) and came real close to tying with Brian Williams on NBC (he had 9.3 million.) But even though your premiere numbers are pretty impressive, they pale in comparison to the 13.6 million people who checked out Katie’s debut in 2006.

Official national numbers are being released next Tuesday, so then we’ll have a better idea of just how many people welcomed you into their homes last night. According to Mediabistro’s TV Newser, “World News” has been averaging 8 million viewers per night this season, so be proud of yourself for setting a new standard.

We can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us.

Get more on Diane & Katie:

1. Katie Couric & Diane Sawyer—It’s A Newscaster Style Showdown