CBS news anchor Katie Couric poses at the ''Stand Up To Cancer'' television event, aimed at raising funds to accelerate innovative cancer research, at the Sony Studios Lot in Culver City, California September 10, 2010. 
 
 NEW YORK | 
 
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Katie Couric, the first woman in the nation to serve as solo network evening news anchor, ended her stint on "CBS Evening News" on Thursday, saying it had been "an incredible journey" and "an extraordinary privilege." 
 
 The broadcast included Couric's interview with another history-making woman, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who became the first former first lady to win elected office when she joined the Senate in 2001. 
 
 Couric discussed President Obama's foreign policy speech on developments in the Arab world with Clinton, who also sought the presidency in 2008. 
 
 Clinton also addressed negotiations with Israel and the Palestinians, and Washington's policy toward Pakistan in the wake of Osama Bin Laden's death in a U.S. military raid. 
 
 The show began with a report on accusations of doping against Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong made by one of his former teammates, Tyler Hamilton. 
 
 Other stories reported on an experimental treatment for paralysis victims, the initial public offering for the professional networking site LinkedIn, and the progress of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was gravely wounded earlier this year during a mass shooting in Arizona. 
 
 Couric also used her final evening news broadcast, which capped a sometimes troubled run that began in September 2006, to look back on the events and people she had covered since she assumed the anchor chair at CBS. 
 
 "It's been an extraordinary privilege to sit in this chair," she said, introducing the segment. 
 
 Included were interviews with President Bush, Alex Rodriguez, Clint Eastwood, President Obama, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and perhaps most memorably, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who seemed ill-prepared for many of Couric's questions. 
 
 The segment also included clips on her reporting on the war in Iraq, wildfires in California, the attempted bombing in Times Square and last summer's oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 Couric ended the broadcast after the montage, thanking viewers "for coming along with me on this incredible journey. 
 
 "That's the CBS Evening News for tonight. I'm Katie Couric. Good night," she said. 
 
 Couric moved to CBS News after 15 years as co-host of NBC's top-rated morning show, "Today," and at the time spoke of plans to revamp and update the nightly network news format. 
 
 She recently said that was overly ambitious, and it might have proven more successful to do a traditional broadcast format and introduce changes only gradually. 
 
 During the broadcast's early days, some observers focused on Couric's style and appearance, drawing criticism that male anchors would never have been subject to such surface details. 
 
 Couric won a number of prestigious awards during her relatively brief tenure and scored journalistic coups, but never managed to lift "CBS Evening News" out of third place behind "NBC Nightly News" and "ABC World News." 
 
 "60 Minutes" reporter Scott Pelley will succeed Couric, whose contract is up in June, on June 6. 
 
 Couric, 54, is reported to be in talks to develop a daytime talk show. 
 
 (Editing by Greg McCune) ||||| One of the most high-profile media courtships may soon be consummated: Katie Couric is closing in on a deal with Walt Disney Co.'s ABC to host an afternoon talk show. 
 
 Couric, who anchored the CBS Evening News for the last time Thursday night, would begin her new syndicated show in the fall of 2012, according to people familiar with the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly about them. 
 
 Some of the major deal points have been hammered out, although there are still outstanding issues surrounding compensation. The agreement is not expected to be finalized for at least a week. Couric's contract with CBS ends June 6. 
 
 CBS, which until a few weeks ago had also been vying to distribute Couric's proposed syndicated show, has the right to match any offer to Couric before her contract ends. The network has not yet waived that right, nor is it expected to make a counteroffer, said these people with knowledge of the situation. 
 
 Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger has been "very involved" in the deal, the people said. He has been particularly interested in bringing Couric to ABC, in part, to fill the programming void that will be created by the departure of the queen of daytime TV, Oprah Winfrey. Disney's ABC-owned stations carrry "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which will broadcast its last episode Wednesday. 
 
 "Speculation around Katie is exciting, but there is no new deal to announce," said Couric's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik. 
 
 Joining her in the new venture would be Jeff Zucker, former chief executive of NBC Universal, who started working with Couric in the late 1980s when he was a producer with NBC's morning show, "Today." Zucker is credited with building "Today" into a financial and ratings juggernaut, and his and Couric's career trajectories were closely tied for more than a decade. 
 
 The new Couric show is expected to cost about $40 million a year to produce, according to someone with knowledge of the proposed terms. Couric and Zucker would have an opportunity to participate in the profits of the show. 
 
 Couric raked in $15 million a year salary at the CBS Evening News, a lofty amount that was criticized at a time when CBS was paring its news operations. Despite the high salary and expectations, she failed to pull the newscast out of third place. 
 
 ABC News President Ben Sherwood has also been instrumental in the negotiations, but the ABC News organization's financial contribution will be relatively small, said another person familiar with the matter. The company's syndication arm would largely finance the production, which would be sold to other TV station groups. 
 
 Couric's team has long wanted to build a show that would reunite Couric and longtime "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer. There were internal discussions within Disney about whether to postpone the debut until 2013, when Lauer would be available. His NBC contract expires in December 2012. 
 
 Inside Disney, the operation to land Couric has been code-named "Ginger," said a person with the knowledge of the matter. Executives quip about the importance of the pairing, joking that "Ginger" would need its "Fred" for the show to take off. 
 
 At a news conference last week after the announcement that Meredith Vieira will be leaving the "Today" show, Lauer did his best to dismiss rumors that he would soon be following Vieira out the door. "I have a long-term deal with NBC," Lauer said. "I'm gonna be here for a while." 
 
 -- Dawn C. Chiemelewksi and Meg James 
 
 Photo: Katie Couric attends the 46th annual National Magazine Awards in May 2011. Credit: Charles Sykes /Associated Press.
– Katie Couric, the first woman to be solo anchor of an evening network news show, has officially signed off on her 5-year stint at CBS. Couric's final CBS Evening News broadcast included an interview with Hillary Clinton and a "5 years in 5 minutes" retrospective of her time as anchor, Reuters reports. "It's been an extraordinary privilege to sit in this chair," she said before the segment, which included interviews with George W. Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and, of course, Sarah Palin. She thanked viewers "for coming along with me on this incredible journey." 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley will succeed Couric, who is believed to be close to a deal for a daytime talk show on ABC.