Today is Katie Couric's last day as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Couric received $15 million dollars for each of the five years she held the coveted position. As Michael Massing at the Columbia Journalism Review calculated, this number is more than the combined amount NPR spends each year on its two biggest shows, Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Couric's hefty salary dodged the network's budget cuts last December. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric lost 24 percent of its viewership since the former Today Show host stepped in in 2006, forcing network executives to consider reducing her pay. Luckily for Couric, she was able to keep her millions rolling in until the May contract expiration.

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Caitlin Dickson