In yet another sign of the decline of network television news, General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) NBC dumped "Dateline" anchor Stone Phillips. He won't be the last high-priced talent to be shown the door.

As ratings continue to decline for news programs at NBC, Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) ABC and CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) profit pressures are intensifying as shareholders demand to see a return for the money being poured into these shows.

That's why Phillips won't be earning nearly as much at his next job as the $7 million USA Today says he earned at NBC. Odds are best that he'll wind up at News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) Fox News Channel, Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) or another cable network such as the Discovery Channel which is now home to former "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel.

In the wake of Philips' departure, TV personalities up and down the dial are probably quaking in their designer clothes wondering whether they will be next. It's a well-founded fear.

Networks are less patient than ever.

If entertainment programs don't immediately catch on, they are gone after a handful of episodes. Ratings are just as important to news programs. Though nightly news programs have been in decline for years, they still make good money for the networks.

Ratings points translate into advertising sales which translates eventually into profits. No TV star is immune from fiscal realities.

That's why Philips got pushed out the door. "Dateline" has morphed into a program dedicated to catching pathetic sex offenders. His services as a newsman were no longer needed.

Evidently, "perky" and "likable" aren't what the nation's network news watchers want with their nightly dose of headlines. This is a tough (and expensive) lesson being learned by the folks at CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS).

Last week, the CBS Evening News, which has been anchored by Katie Couric since early September, attracted its lowest ratings since 1987. During the first week of May, which happens to mark the beginning of the television industry's spring "sweeps" period, an average of 6.05 million viewers tuned in to watch the former Today host deliver the news. Couric is currently the highest-paid news anchor, at $15 million per year.

ABC's World News offering, meanwhile, averaged 8.1 million viewers, while NBC's Nightly News saw 7.5 million viewers tune in. Charles Gibson mans the desk at ABC -- a division of Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) -- while Brian Williams is the weeknight anchor for General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC.

Thank goodness for the CSI franchise and other programs that keep CBS moving at an enviable clip. The network still won the week, earning an average 11.2 million viewers in prime time to top its four competitors.

How do you solve a problem like Katie? According to recent theories from "CBS sources," she may gracefully bow out of her current role following the 2008 Presidential election and take on another position at the eye network. But even that is well over a year away, and there is the potential for plenty of sub-par ratings between now and next November.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.