Mike Viqueira on Today - H 2013
NBCAl Jazeera America has hired NBC’s Michael Viqueira as its White House correspondent.
Viqueira has been with NBC since 1998 covering politics on Today, NBC News and MSNBC. He will join Al Jazeera’s D.C. Bureau and cover daily White House press briefings for the forthcoming Qatar-owned cable news channel.
“This is a great opportunity, both because of Al Jazeera America’s commitment to the kind of straight-forward, hard-nosed journalism that all good reporters value, and because it’s tremendously exciting to be building something that will fill today’s critical need for real, unfiltered and fact-based news,” Viqueira said in a news release.
STORY: Ali Velshi Joins Al Jazeera America
Al Jazeera America has been on a hiring spree since the formation of the cable channel was announced. In April, the network hired CNN’s chief business correspondent Ali Velshi to be a primetime host.
“Michael Viqueira is a seasoned national correspondent with deep experience covering Washington politics,” said Ehab Al Shihabi, executive director of international operations for Al Jazeera, in the release. “Every political activity in the Capitol has an impact on the average American and his knowledge and extensive network of contacts will allow him to dig deeper to bring important news and information to light for the American public.”
Despite numerous hires, Al Jazeera America has not yet found a president for the network. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that a head hunter has reached out to the multiple TV news veterans including CNN’s Jon Klein and ex-ABC News president David Westin.
Marisa Guthrie contributed to this report.
