Katie Couric is expected to announce her new syndicated daytime talk show on ABC as early as Monday. According the a Wall Street Journal report, the new gig will split her skills as a recognized television personality and a journalist with a mix of news and human interest stories, while the afternoon time slot would fall between her last gig as anchor of CBS Evening News and her role on the Today Show. "She'll be doing the big interviews. She'll be doing the heartfelt stories," a source told the Journal, adding that the new show would "Oprah-esque." The programming style and timing of the announcement obviously make great sense as Oprah's final show aired just last week.

Soap opera fans take note. There's a chance that the new show's time slot--rumored to be 3 p.m. starting in September--could conflict with the General Hospital. TMZ reported last month that, "ABC is considering is giving its affiliates back the hour where General Hospital airs to make room for Katie.  In other words, ABC would axe the third longest-running soap in history and the last one standing on ABC."  TMZ also put the value of Couric's new contract at $20 million. Other headlines on TMZ include "Octomom Goes Two-Pieces for Bikini Shoot" and "J. Lo Honeymoon Tape Triggers Porn War." So the rumor about the network axing its long-running soap opera could well just be that: a rumor. The talk show announcement, however, seems all but guaranteed.

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Adam Clark Estes