I thought this news was already reasonably official, but Katie Couric is now making it even more hardcore. Not content to simply a skid mark on Dan Rather’s old seat with a note that says “Smell ya later, d-bags,” Katie has given an interview to People Magazine formally acknowledging her desire to leave CBS News. It’s extremely interesting to me that Katie gave this exclusive to People, rather than, say, Newsweek. Or Time Magazine (same parent company as People Mag). Or Politico. Or CBS News for that matter. No, Katie went to the bible of official celebrity gossip. Interesting choice, right? Like… she’s preparing for what comes next, and she’s signaling that it will be heavy on the fluff (no judgment, I get paid for fluff too!).

After weeks of widespread speculation about her future, Katie Couric is finally ready to go on the record.

“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.”

As she launches the next phase of her career and her new book, The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives, she is also juggling exclusive interviews with astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron – and she’s covering the royal wedding.

“The bottom line is that I love doing all kinds of different stories,” says Couric, 54. “I have a lot of areas of interest and I want to be able to fulfill all of that.”

[From People]

I think Katie is probably looking for a magazine show on NBC, and in an ideal world, NBC would just give her what she wants. I see Katie following the Barbara Walters path – making her bones doing “fluff” celebrity journalism, and maybe some good faux-political stories too (like, cheating politicians, gay politicians who get caught up in scandals with lovers/hustlers, etc). What I think will actually happen, however, is that NBC is going to try to shoe-horn Katie back into the Today Show.

By the way, I’m really liking her hair these days. A superficial observation, I know, but this current color and cut is stellar on her.

Photos courtesy of WENN.