We kinda knew this last month, then we were pretty sure that we knew it, and now finally we know it. Life in the media age, where every story’s over before it’s begun.

There’s only one man who can bring enough moxie to the anchor chair to jolt the ratings, so let the chant go up: Bring. Back. Rather.

“I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News,” Couric tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I’m really proud of the talented team on the CBS Evening News and the award-winning work we’ve been able to do in the past five years in addition to the reporting I’ve done for 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. In making the decision to move on, I know the Evening News will be in great hands, but I am excited about the future.”

What’s next for the 32-year broadcast veteran? “I am looking at a format that will allow me to engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling,” she says, adding that other details, including when and where the show will air, are “still being discussed.”

There were whispers a few weeks ago about her and Lauer possibly reuniting for a chat show — hey, someone’s got to fill that “Regis & Kelly” vacuum — but it may have been a ploy to increase Lauer’s bargaining leverage with NBC. CBS issued a statement this afternoon bidding her adieu which is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it’s … notably terse:

“There’s a lot to be proud of during Katie Couric’s time at the CBS Evening News. CBS News, like Katie herself, is looking forward to the next chapter.”

And second, according to CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller, there was a slightly different draft circulating in-house for a time:

“There’s a lot to be proud of during Katie Couric’s time at the CBS Evening News. But we feel it is time for a change. CBS News, like Katie herself, is looking forward to the next chapter.”

Interesting that they took out that middle sentence after further thought. Which party’s more excited to be rid of the other?

Via Mediaite, your exit question: Shouldn’t the news division made famous by Edward R. Murrow have considered the modern-day incarnation of the man to replace her? I ask you.