Katie Couric hit rock bottom this month, starting with talk about an early exit from the CBS Evening News, continuing through to a lost debate-hosting opportunity and the worst ratings week in her show's history, and ending with Larry King's contract renewal for a show Couric had coveted at CNN. Now, at last, the news cycle seems to be turning in Couric's favor. Newsday reports Couric may be able to nab King's time slot:

"King did not secure a guarantee to continue anchoring the 9 p.m. hour, which - I am reliably told - opens the door wide for Couric when she leaves CBS after the inauguration, as she almost certainly will," wrote columnist Verne Gay

This may not be the exact opportunity that returns Couric to the glory she tasted in 15 years at Today. King's agent is already dumping on (though not refuting) Newsday's story, saying King's new contract is "the exact same deal and job that Larry has been doing."

But the now-positive King-Couric chatter is a reminder that Couric's ill-chosen move to the evening anchor chair is a career chapter she will eventually put behind her, and that the same media recently airing her many problems will eventually start talking about her comeback.

Here's more from Verne Gay at Newsday on why Couric's redemption might occur at CNN:

Without giving Larry a lock on 9 p.m., CNN is finally laying the groundwork for a 9 p.m. succession plan and in fact, CNN appears to have the luxury to do so: Its first quarter ratings were the best in years, and the one-time whipping post of FNC is finally doing a little butt-kicking of its own. There's a simple reality factor at work here as well: King'll be 75 this November, and while we can all agree his tenure has been a remarkable one, nothing - and no one - lasts forever. Nor is anyone untouchable in this business - even Walter Cronkite, whose exit from the anchor chair was assured in 1981 when Dan Rather, then a superstar, forced the issue.

[Newsday]