CBS EVENING NEWS anchor Katie Couric is being accused of slapping an editor -- after he injected a word she detested into a script!

"The stress has caused her to blow up at her staff for small infractions on the set," charges NEW YORK magazine reporter Joe Hagan, in a story set for publication on Monday.

"During the tuberculosis story in June, Couric got angry with news editor Jerry Cipriano for using a word she detested-- 'sputum' --and the staff grew tense when she began slapping him 'over and over and over again' on the arm, according to a source familiar with the scene. It had seemed like a joke at first, but it quickly became clear that she wasn't kidding."

A top CBS executive tells the DRUDGE REPORT that no formal complaint has been filed against Couric over the incident.