CBS resizes Couric in promo pic

Weight loss should always be this easy: An image of Katie Couric, originally released in May by CBS, has made a late-summer appearance with a very noticeable tummy tuck, just in time for Couric's debut as the anchor of the CBS Evening News.

The doctored photo appears in the September issue of Watch magazine, which just happens to be owned by CBS, according to Mediabistro, which first reported on the alteration. The New York Post and several blogs soon followed with coverage.

A side-by-side look at original photo and its touched-up near-twin reveals a clear difference at the waistline, as well as some changes in contrast that make Couric's face look slimmer. This News.com photo gallery shows the Couric images as well as other recent digital trickery, from altered Iraq battlefield scenes to a mash-up of Jane Fonda and John Kerry.

The former "Today Show" host is scheduled to begin her job as anchor and managing editor of "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" in September. She replaces Dan Rather, who followed the legendary Walter Cronkite. (Bob Schieffer also served as interim anchor.) Couric will be "the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast," according to CBS.

Photo touchups used to be the realm of professionals, but digital photography is putting such techniques within reach of more and more people. The software with which average Americans can change themselves has gotten easier to use, with many reality-altering options built into the cameras themselves. A technique that gives the same effect as the Couric photo, for instance, is available as a "Slimming Mode" on several Hewlett-Packard cameras.

A brief search found no stories of doctored photos or weight issues related to Couric's male predecessors.