Top TV women

Katie Couric is leaving her anchor post at "CBS Evening News" less than five years after becoming the first woman to solely helm a network TV evening newscast.

The 54 year old is in good company. Over the years, women have made great gains in television journalism. Here are some of the most prominent among them:

BARBARA WALTERS (B. 1929)

Now a television icon, Walters started as an assistant to the publicity director of RCA-TV. After taking part in a producer’s training program, she moved on to

WPIX as a producer of women’s programming.

Walters later moved on to CBS, then landed at NBC. In 1961, she became a writer for the Today Show. Within two years she had become a regular panel member. She co-hosted the show from 1974 to 1976.

She joined ABC later that year, becoming co-anchor of the network evening news show. She was the first woman to achieve that status. She had a famously rocky relationship with co-anchor Harry Reasoner.

In the mid-70s, Walters also began hosting television specials in which she interviews heads of state, newsmakers, sports figures and celebrities. In 1977, she arranged the first joint interview with Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin. She has also interviewed six American presidents.

In 1984, Walters became co-host of the ABC news magazine show 20/20. After two decades she went into semi-retirement from the show.

Today, she hosts the daytime talk show, The View.

BARBARA FRUM (1937-1992)

One of Canada’s most respected journalists, Frum started out as a commentator for several CBC radio shows then became a newspaper and magazine columnist. In 1967, she turned her attention to television and was co-host of an information program called The Way It Is.

But Frum is best remembered for her work in radio. In 1971, she became co-host of the CBC radio show, As it Happens. The show featured interviews with people in the news as well as in-depth looks at stories of the day. Frum gained a reputation as a tough and well-informed interviewer.

She enhanced that reputation as co-host of The Journal. She worked at the CBC newsmagazine show for ten years starting in 1982. She interviewed British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and other newsmakers.

Frum died in 1992 from complications of chronic leukemia. She was 54.

DIANE SAWYER (B. 1945)

Sawyer started out in politics. She worked for Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign in 1970 then worked in the White House press office. After Nixon resigned, Sawyer helped him write his memoirs.

In 1978, she became a correspondent for CBS News. Between 1982 and 1984, Sawyer was co-anchor of CBS Morning News.

Also in 1984, she became the first woman to work as a correspondent on the magazine show, 60 Minutes.

Five years later, Sawyer went to ABC to co-anchor Primetime Live. While working on the program, she covered a number of big stories, including the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

She returned to the morning news in 1999, becoming the co-anchor of Good Morning America.

On Sept. 2, 2009, ABC announced Sawyer would replace Charles Gibson as host of its nightly news show, World News Tonight.

By January 2010, two of the three major U.S. network news anchors were women.

PAMELA WALLIN (b. 1953)

Now holding a seat in the senate, Wallin started as a social worker at the Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary.

She soon turned her attention to journalism, and joined CBC Radio’s news division. In 1979 she joined The Toronto Star. She stayed at the paper for two years then joined CTV as co-host of Canada AM.

She left the show to do a stint as CTV’s Ottawa bureau chief but returned to Canada AM in this year to host with J.D. Roberts, who is now an anchor at CNN.

Wallin returned to CBC Television in 1992. She and Peter Mansbridge became co-hosts of Prime Time News. In 1995, Wallin was replaced by Hana Gartner.

Undeterred by the setback, Wallin created her own production company and launched a CBC interview show called Pamela Wallin Live. The show was successful but, after four years, Wallin moved to the cable network, TalkTV.

Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Wallin helped organize a rally in which Canadians showed their support for the United States.

Also that year, Wallin spoke out about her battle with colon cancer.

In 2002, Wallin left journalism for politics, and was appointed Canada’s Consul General in New York. Last year, Wallin was appointed the Senate of Canada.

KATIE COURIC (B. 1957)

Couric started her career as a desk assistant at ABC the moved the Washington bureau of CNN. She worked at various bureaus around the country as a producer and, occasionally, as an on-air reporter.

In 1987, she accepted a job as an on-air reporter with an NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. As a reporter for the NBC News, Couric covered several big stories including the Persian Gulf War.

By 1991, she was filling in as host of the NBC’s morning newsmagazine, Today. She was promoted to full-time host and was an instant hit with viewers. In 1993, the show surpassed ABC’s Good Morning America in the ratings.

Beginning in the summer of 1993, Couric also co-hosted another prime-time newsmagazine, Now, with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric. It was eventually absorbed into the more popular program Dateline.

In 2006, after 15 years with the Today Show, Couric signed a deal with CBS to become the first woman to anchor the evening news alone.

In April 2011, a CBS excecutive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Couric was leaving to launch a syndicated talk show.