Kate O'Brian Named Al Jazeera America's President

Al Jazeera America Announces President

Kate O'Brian will be Al Jazeera America's president, the network announced on Monday.

O'Brian is currently a senior vice-president at ABC News and comes to her new post after 30 years at the network. The New York Times' Brian Stelter broke the news on Twitter Monday.

"Kate’s arrival speaks volumes about what we intend to do and how we intend to do it," Dr. Mostefa Souag, the network's acting general, said in a statement. "She is a highly experienced and award-winning journalist who fully understands what Americans want to see and hear when they watch the news."

The announcement comes as the network prepares to launch in less than a month. It has been searching for a president since Al Jazeera bought Current TV in January, and revealed plans to replace the channel with its own programming. Al Jazeera America has been on a hiring spree in the past few weeks. It recently announced four new anchors anchors, as well as deals with Ali Velshi and Soledad O'Brien. David Shuster will reportedly join the network, a source told The Huffington Post, as well.

Additionally, the network named three other senior vice-presidents on Monday: David Doss, who is currently the senior executive producer at "Anderson 360," Marcy McGinnis, who was at CBS News for decades, and Shannon High-Bassalik, who joins the network from CNN.

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