They grow up so fast, don’t they? Online political media giant Politico turns five years old today, and to celebrate, the site posted a video roast by some quotable notables in the political media world. While the site has arguably earned the right to toot its own horn at least once every half-decade, did they really have to overshadow the birthday of Saved By The Bell actress Tiffani-Amber Thiessen?

Isn’t it ghastly? Will we be accused us of capitalizing on the nation’s grief? Is it still too soon?

Those were just some of the questions we faced when deciding whether to replay NBC’s 9/11 coverage when I was General Manager of MSNBC back in 2006. As I watched MSNBC air that coverage for a sixth year today, many of those same questions remain.

From time to time, our readers will challenge us to cover a story they think we’ve missed, so when one such reader alerted us that First Lady Michelle Obama thanked “CNN and the rest of the mainstream media for all its support and kindness,” we got right on the case. Sure enough, Real Clear Politics had the goods, under the headline Michelle Obama: “Fortunately, We Have Help From The Media.”

Aha! Proof that the in-the-tank lamestream media is in the tank, right? Not so much.

“What is it about politicians” that makes them cheat? That’s the question Rush Limbaugh sought to answer on today’s show. “Did you ever think,” he wondered. “That it’s because of who they were raised by, who they were hanging out with?” That’s right, everyone. Rep. Anthony Weiner can leave rehab now. Rush Limbaugh has figured out why he sent those dirty messages to women including some allegedly underaged ones. It’s all because liberal women are so bossy and ugly. Duh!

Katie Couric is now free from her evening news anchor shackles and appeared with Jay Leno last night to reveal some of her real thoughts on the behavior of Donald Trump and Sarah Palin. Who would have guessed that with Couric, of all people, the NBC censors needed to be ready to bleep some of her language.

ABC News president Ben Sherwood today broke the news just about everyone already knew: Katie Couric will join the network, to create a syndicated talk show that will debut for Fall 2012, and to report for ABC News beginning this summer. “A versatile journalist, interviewer and storyteller, Katie will contribute across all of our broadcasts and online, joining our powerhouse line-up of anchors and correspondents as the ultimate utility player,” Sherwood said in a memo to ABC News staff. “Katie is committed to helping us uphold the great traditions of ABC News as we strive to build the news division of the future.”

Fear not, America: your concerns over the fate of Katie Couric‘s television career will be addressed today. And she’s going to be fine, really, truly fine. In The New York Times, Bill Carter writes the deal, expected to include a syndicated talk show and a role for Couric on ABC News shows, will be worth millions. “One of the chief negotiators in pursuit of Ms. Couric, speaking anonymously last week because of the confidential nature of the talks, said, “We all know what we’re looking at with a successful syndicated show — $100 million to $300 million a year” in revenue. As host and co-owner, Ms. Couric’s own take each year could be tens of millions of dollars.

ABC is reportedly “nearing an agreement” with ex-CBS News anchor Katie Couric with a sweetened syndication offer. Howard Kurtz reports the package is so lucrative for Couric, ABC–considered a longshot when Couric began exploring her options after the CBS Evening News–has now jumped to the front of the pack.

“Under the multi-year proposal now on the table, Couric would have almost total ownership of the venture—giving her the potential to make far more than her $15 million-a-year anchor salary,” Kurtz reports. “ABC News President Ben Sherwood provided an important boost, having lunch with Couric and making clear he wanted her to contribute to his news division as well.”

Technically, Katie Couric‘s out of work this morning. But don’t worry, she’s going to be just fine. The now former anchor of the CBS Evening News, who wrapped up five years in that role Thursday night, is reportedly close to inking a new contract that with ABC as host of an afternoon talk show. According to a report this morning in the Los Angeles Times, citing “people familiar with the negotiations,” Couric’s syndicated show would launch in the fall of 2012.

Couric’s contract with CBS ends June 6, and the Times notes CBS has the right to match any offer Couric receives before the contract expires:

Katie Couric delivered her final broadcast as the host of the CBS Evening News tonight, thanking her staff and those who hired her and emphasizing the “privilege and honor” of having been able to deliver the news there for the past five years. While it could have been a somewhat bittersweet affair (and, indeed, “Bittersweet Symphony” did play at one point in the background), Couric’s last treat– a retrospective of her favorite stories from her tenure– made it fascinating.

Mediaite has learned that Rick Kaplan, executive producer of the CBS Evening News, is leaving his post. Kaplan announced his departure in a meeting with staffers of the Katie Couric broadcast. “You have all made my life for the past almost five years fabulous,” Kaplan said, according to people close to Kaplan.

In an interview with Katie Couric published in Glamour, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow says some may see her as the “face of the network” in the aftermath of Keith Olbermann‘s departure, but she has no real idea what that means. “I still think of myself as the new kid, even though I’ve been on the air for two and a half years. But my job is the same as it ever was, which is to make 9:00 P.M. as good as I can.”

In a move you’d be forgiven for thinking had already been made, CBS officially named 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley the new anchor of the CBS Evening News, replacing Katie Couric. “Scott has it all. He has the experience, the credibility and he is among the very best reporters ever to work at CBS News,” said CBS News chairman Jeff Fager. “In more than two decades at CBS News, he has distinguished himself at every level, right up to his current role at ’60 Minutes,’ where his work has been incomparable. We like to think of CBS News as the ‘reporter’s network’ and I can’t think of anybody in this business better suited for the anchor chair than Scott.”

Sarah Palin and Katie Couric haven’t exactly been one another’s number one fans. You might recall that it was Couric who asked Palin – then John McCain‘s vice presidential running mate – what newspapers she read, prompting Palin’s now notorious and much-lampooned response: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

Who saw this coming? Okay, fine. Everybody did. But now, with a post on the website of People magazine, it’s official: Katie Couric will step down as anchor of the CBS Evening News. “I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News,” Couric tells People in an exclusive interview. “I’m really proud of the talented team on the CBS Evening News and the award-winning work we’ve been able to do in the past five years in addition to the reporting I’ve done for 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. In making the decision to move on, I know the Evening News will be in great hands, but I am excited about the future.”

There’s always a chance that the Katie Couric-is-leaving-the-evening-news story is wrong and the Donald Trump-is-running-for-president story is right, but The New York Times says we’ll finally get the answer on Couric this week, when CBS begins the process of dragging this thing out for at least two more weeks–first by confirming that Couric’s leaving, and then next week telling us that Scott Pelley‘s announcing someone as her replacement.

If the rampant but rather bland buzz is to be believed, CBS News will tap 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley as the next anchor of the CBS Evening News, replacing the soon-to-depart (and almost certainly daytime-bound) Katie Couric.

By all accounts, Pelley’s a great guy, well-liked at CBS News, and a fine choice to inherit the chair once owned by Walter Cronkite. Picking Pelley would reshuffle the evening news anchor deck, returning it to mostly white guys, with ABC’s Diane Sawyer the only exception. But what if CBS decided on a more diverse choice? Who’s out there? Is there anybody worth a look?

Back at her old home, NBC’s TODAY, Katie Couric sat down with Matt Lauer to talk, naturally, about her new book. Making absolutely no mention of the frenzy of speculation surrounding Couric’s future as anchor of the CBS Evening News, Lauer and Couric had a casual chat about Couric’s book on life advice (“you have to keep trying” was one insider’s tip) for a full three minutes. It was only then that Lauer pivoted, asking “heard any good rumors lately?”

What’s next for CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric? If all the chatter’s got it right, she’s giving up the anchor chair and darting back to more comfortable turf, probably daytime TV. So here was Couric, on daytime TV’s The View, sitting alongside Barbara Walters, who’s made a career out of squeezing information out of tight-lipped celebrities. Could she get Couric to spill? Not exactly. “Every day you pick up the papers, it’s another headline,” Walters began, and Couric immediately said “it’s boring.”

In the last week news broke that, after months of speculation, it appeared that Katie Couric would be leaving the anchor desk at CBS’ Evening News. Later in the week, rumors also spread that Matt Lauer would be leaving the anchor desk at TODAY, capping a week that saw lots of movement among television hosts. Bill Carter is now reporting that Couric is “pursuing the idea of her own syndicated talk show, possibly with her former “Today” show co-host, Matt Lauer.”

There’s at least one person in the media that is rejoicing over the news that Katie Couric is probably leaving her position at CBS: Fox News’ Liz Trotta, who gave a scathing commentary today claiming the perception of Couric is as a journalist is “ridiculous,” and that her failure proved that “there’s a very big difference between doing the news… and giggling all the time.”

It seems fairly certain that very soon, CBS News will come to the end of the Katie Couric era. For many, that means an entertaining round of media speculation about who will inherit the anchor chair at the CBS Evening News.

Much of the speculation has focused on Scott Pelley, the CBS lifer who’s a correspondent at 60 Minutes. Pelley’s a nice guy, a good reporter and would surely do a fine job as an evening news anchor.

The Associated Press is reporting that an unnamed source identified as a network executive has confirmed that Katie Couric will be leaving the anchor chair at CBS Evening News. This comes as unexpected news to dozens of individuals who have not paid close attention to the many recent public and private comments concerning Couric’s future at CBS News that have given every indication that she is preparing to move on.

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, whose contract is set to expire in June, may stay at the network as a correspondent for 60 Minutes, according to a report in the New York Post. The paper’s Michael Shain cites “network insiders” saying “an offer to become a regular correspondent for the prestigious Sunday night TV magazine is part of the package being offered Couric–if she’ll stay and do a projected daytime talk show for CBS.”

The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz says CBS News is deep into the process of finding a replacement for Evening News anchor Katie Couric, whose contract ends in June. “The search is on” for a worthy successor, writes Kurtz, with “the new CBS News chairman, Jeff Fager, is looking at candidates both within and outside the network, insiders say.”

A top contender at CBS, Kurtz says, is 60 Minutes‘ Scott Pelley: