Ayman Mohyeldin Jumps To NBC News From Al Jazeera English

Ayman Mohyeldin, who became a breakout media star with his coverage of the Egyptian uprising, has jumped from Al Jazeera English to NBC News.

NBC made the announcement in a statement on Monday, and Mohyeldin confirmed the news on Facebook and Twitter. He will become a foreign correspondent for NBC, based in Cairo. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Mohyeldin, who began his career at the network's Washington bureau in 2001.

The move represents a heavy loss for Al Jazeera. Mohyeldin was the most prominent face of the network's Egyptian coverage, which won high praise and was a key factor in its new push into the United States (where it has been virtually shut out of the airwaves). It also gives NBC News--whose chief face of the Middle East is Richard Engel--a high-profile Arab reporter in the region.

Writing on Facebook, Mohyeldin said that he was proud of his reporting for Al Jazeera, and wanted to bring the kind of work he did to an American audience:

"Through wars and revolution, our reporting at Al Jazeera English has changed the news landscape forever, helping shed light and placing in proper context the world's stories from regions often neglected while challenging the stereotypes, misperceptions and misinformation that comes out of these places...I couldn't possibly pass on the opportunity to report these historic times to an American audience with the hopes of making a positive difference in the way the US understands the region, challenging stereotypes and misunderstandings."