Familiar TV Anchors Move On, Hoping to Profit on Their Own

Television is undergoing a sea change this season as a dozen famous television anchors and celebrities — whose shows are watched by more than 40 million viewers every day — are leaving their longtime perches.

To name a few, on June 3, Jim Lehrer ended his daily duties on the “PBS NewsHour”; on June 6, Scott Pelley replaced Katie Couric on the “CBS Evening News”; on June 8, Meredith Vieira will leave the “Today” show on NBC; and later this month, her former colleague Keith Olbermann will start a new show on Current TV. By now, viewers may barely recognize their favorite shows and channels. It seems like the most tumultuous time on the small screen in a generation, but much of the tumult is off the screen, in business meetings about how the media industry is transforming. Although some of those departing, like Lehrer and Regis Philbin, are leaving their shows because of a generational shift, others are moving on because they want a bigger financial stake in their own brands. Couric, Oprah Winfrey and Glenn Beck, among others, are taking equity stakes in themselves, separating from the media conglomerates that have profited mightily from their star power.