According to pretty much everyone you ask, Katie Couric is on her way out as host of the CBS Evening News. Well, everyone but CBS that is. The network – and Couric’s people – are all insisting that everything is well and good. However both traditional and internet media have been buzzing all week that Couric will be let go right after the inauguration in January – if not sooner. Everyone seems to have their own thoughts on why the Evening News has had such lackluster ratings under Couric – but no matter what your theory, one thing is undeniable – they’re not getting any better.

Now names of potential replacements are being bandied about – and the name at the top of the list is CNN’s silver fox, Anderson Cooper. In fact it seems CNN and CBS might be considering a trade of sorts. Apparently that happens in both sports and evening news. Who knew?

Katie Couric for Anderson Cooper? A blockbuster trade of TV superstars was floated Friday by TV insiders as a solution to CBS’ Couric problem. Cooper, CNN’s prematurely gray prince of cable TV, would replace Couric as the anchor of CBS’ “Evening News.” He already is a contributor to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” they said.

And CNN will eventually need to replace the iconic Larry King, who is 74. Why not Couric, who remains a marquee talent despite being a $75 million flop for CBS, the insiders said. “Take Katie off the ‘Evening News,’ let her do Larry King, and then let Cooper anchor,” one network source said.

Couric, 51, has said only that she was “working hard and having fun” since word broke this week that she was heading for a humiliating exit after just 18 months as anchor. During her tenure, CBS has been mired in third place in the ratings and, as a result, cost the network millions in lost revenue.

[From the New York Daily News]

NBC’s David Gregory is also being considered as a possible replacement anchor, and both Harry Smith and Bob Schieffer are potential interim candidates if Couric bolts before the inauguration. And considering just how much gossip is being e-whispered, I couldn’t blame anyone for wanting to sit through another nine months of speculation.

Somehow Katie’s style does seem to make more sense in an in-depth interview show. And it sure as hell is time for Larry King to retire. Maybe she could bring a little respectability back to that show. And Anderson Cooper shines wherever he is. Maybe it’s the gray hair… maybe the blue eyes… or the blue shirts that accent the blue eyes just so… but I digress. This is about important newsy things. Anderson could bring much-needed viewers back to the CBS Evening News. And my cable service is kind of spotty, so I’d really prefer he move to network television. And that’s a damn good reason right there.