Al Jazeera America Taps ABC Veteran as President

NEW YORK: Kate O’Brian, a 30-year veteran of ABC, has been appointed president of Al Jazeera America, while Ehab Al Shihabi, Al Jazeera’s executive director for international operations, has been named as an interim CEO.

O’Brian had been serving as the senior VP of ABC News. She will now be based at Al Jazeera America’s New York City headquarters, taking on full responsibility for the editorial strategy and operations across the network. Al Shihabi, who has been with Al Jazeera for five years, is to serve as interim CEO.

Additionally, David Doss has been named senior VP for news programming. Marcy McGinnis joins as senior VP of news-gathering. Shannon High-Bassalik will serve as the senior VP of documentaries and programs.

Al Jazeera America is set to launch on August 20.