We've talked before about the stunning decline in network TV news and the great challenges this medium faces.

So when CBS announced Katie Couric would take over for Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, it seemed like more of the same was coming...

Perhaps, it's not.

This came from CBS today, in a press release:

The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC will become the first network evening news broadcast to be simulcast live on the Internet beginning Tuesday, Sept. 5 (6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT), when it debuts on the CBS Television Network, it was announced by Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports, and Larry Kramer, President, CBS Digital Media.

"Viewers can now see the CBS EVENING NEWS live, as never before," said McManus. "This is a groundbreaking development in making the program available to the largest possible audience. For people who can't be in front of their televisions when the EVENING NEWS is on, they can now watch the program live on their computers. It's another giant step towards providing CBS News content to people wherever they are -- in their homes, in their offices, in their cars, on their computers or on their cell phones."

And there's more. There will be a blog, called Couric & Company, additional video content and a podcast.

For those of us in the communications business, this is a development worth watching. If this kind of thing becomes commonplace in network and local TV news, there will be a lot more content needed to fill all the new TV-drive mediums. And that means opportunity for those with stories to tell.