Last week, Ehab Al Shihabi (pictured left), the executive director of international operations for Al Jazeera and the senior executive in charge of developing Al Jazeera America, was in New York City, where he interviewed the final candidates for the leadership role, TVNewser has learned.

Those interviews are likely one of the last hurdles before the channel decided who its new chief executive should be. Among the candidates said to be under consideration: former CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein, former CNN managing editor Mark Whitaker and former ABC News chief David Westin. We haven’t heard of any new names surfacing recently, though if you have, drop us a line.

Al Jazeera America is still on track to launch later this year, though an exact launch date is unclear. But that has not stopped the network from staffing up. Among the recent hires: CNN’s Ali Velshi, NBC’s Mike Viqueira and just today, investigative journalist Josh Bernstein.
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“As a viewer I don’t regret it,” Klein told HuffPost Live. “I watch him all the time. I think he’s been intelligent and provocative and he follows his own compass. That’s what we wanted, a guy who was an aggressive inquisitor, who spoke his mind, and could be as interesting as his guests. On most nights he does that.”

One regret Klein does seem to have, however, is not being able to convince his boss at the time, Jim Walton, to bring Keith Olbermann to CNN.

Also, Mediaite caught this portion of the chat, about Fox News and its chairman Roger Ailes.

“He pulls things out of nowhere, like that show The Five – I mean, that was a big, gaping hole,” Klein said. “He lost Glenn Beck who had millions of viewers and what does he do? Seamlessly, you know, replaces it with a team that can be a breeding ground for more talent.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In one, he and Murdoch are walking along the beach in Miami and an enormous wave engulfs them. Just then, Morgan would wake up in a cold sweat.

The phone-hacking scandal:

“I’m not going to respond to every single, individual story. I published about 100,000 stories in eleven years. If anybody has any evidence of illegality, present it.”

And the feuds:

With reality TV co-star Omarosa (“a pathetically untalented grotesque waste of space”) and the ex-Mrs. Paul McCartney, Heather Mills (“an indescribably vile creature with no redeeming features whatsoever”)

And then there’s the story about how the British tabloid newspaper editor got the 9pm timeslot on CNN:

In early 2010, [Morgan's agent turned manager John] Ferriter started peppering CNN/U.S.’s then-president Jon Klein with links to interviews Morgan had done on ITV1… At the time, Klein was more urgently preoccupied with figuring out what to do with his 8 p.m. slot, where Campbell Brown’s show was dying, and only while on vacation a couple of months later, during a two-hour car ride from Palm Springs to L.A., did he get around to watching Morgan on his iPad… At 10 a.m. on April 23, Morgan and Ferriter met with Klein, then–HLN head Ken Jautz, and two other CNN executives in Klein’s office at the Time Warner Center. It was more of a meet-and-greet than an interview for a particular job. “Piers walked in and blew us through the back of my office,” Klein says. “He owned that room from the moment he walked in. It was the single best interview I’d ever had with any talent.”

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Chetry co-anchored “American Morning” this AM with Ali Velshi (right), after announcing her decision to depart the network to staff yesterday afternoon. She is expected to continue on the show until the 29th, with Velshi and Christine Romans continuing as interim anchors.

For “American Morning,” the Chetry move is the latest shakeup for the show, which has had a tumultuous year talent-wise. John Roberts left the program last year, and since then the show has had a revolving door of anchors. TVNewser hears that a formal decision on the future of CNN mornings could come in the next few months. The decision would solidify the morning hours with a permanent replacement, but there is also a chance that more talent could depart the network as a result.

In a goodbye note to “AM” staff, Chetry had kind words for her staff, as well as current and former bosses. CNN Worldwide chief Jim Walton, former CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein and former Fox News executive Joel Cheatwood.

Chetry’s note to staff is after the jump.

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“Please welcome a chattering pirate skeleton on loan from Disney Land, Larry King”- Roastmaster and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane

And

“You are so boring, that when you were getting your colonoscopy even your doctor switched to Fox”- Comedian Anthony Jeselnik

TVNewser spotted former CNN/U.S. chief Jon Klein laughing at quite a few of the zingers.

More jokes from and about King and more from the roast at our sister blog FishbowlNY.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In The Next Big Story, co-authored by CNN producer Rose Arce, O’Brien takes a page from her award-winning …In America series, and other reporting experiences, and blends her personal story and mixed-race background (Cuban, Irish, Scottish, Long Island-ish) crafting an inspiring story of hope amidst the tragedies that are a staple of the TV news stories she covers.

The party was a mix itself, of hip-hop stars and tvnewsers: Katie Couric, HLN anchor Jane Velez-Mitchell, CNN correspondents Alina Cho, Susan Candiotti; CNN SVP Bart Feder, …In America EP  Geraldine Moriba, New York bureau chief Darius Walker, development EP David Doss and newly appointed EP of Piers Morgan‘s show Jonathan Wald were all in attendance.

O’Brien mingled with guests all while getting around with a cane. “It’s a step up from the crutches,” O’Brien told us. She’s still nursing a knee injury after being thrown from a horse in early October. O’Brien will continue the book tour with a stop in New Orleans. That event will be a fundraiser as residents continue to recover from Hurricane Katrina, a story O’Brien covered extensively.

Also at the party:

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

• On Rick Sanchez: “Aside from the lamentable stupidity of what he said, if everyone at CNN — all of the anchors had been fired for stupid things, they wouldn’t have anyone to fill up the air.”

• On himself: “I’m doing exactly what I want to do … and I don’t have that conflict that I had with the uh, well, specifically, the management of CNN: Jon Klein who has since been fired.”

To watch, continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Cavuto: You mention CNN. Rick Sanchez, the fired anchor, moments ago issued a statement, an apology… would you hire him back?

Bewkes: He did a lot of good work on CNN and anything is possible. I wish him well. I think that he is a talented guy and he will have a lot of interest in different channels and, who knows, maybe some day the right place for him is at one of ours. I don’t think we should do that now and I am sure he would like to try something new as well.

Cavuto: Did you recommend firing him?

Bewkes: I was not involved in that decision.

Cavuto: At all?

Bewkes: I knew

Cavuto: Did you agree?

Bewkes: I did.

Cavuto: What happened with head of CNN/US? [Jon Klein] did you recommend he be fired?

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Since their 8 PM show on CNN was announced, hosts Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer have insisted that the program will not be another “Crossfire.” That format, with a firebrand liberal facing off against a firebrand conservative, was sent to the garbage bin by the now former CNN president Jon Klein.

The new show, which Klein conceived, is meant to be more conversational, without the shouting. Parker compares it to a family dinner, with relatives of various political persuasions making their case before dessert.

Talking to the co-hosts, one understands the comparison. Spitzer and Parker are constantly cracking jokes, both of the traditional and self-deprecating variety, and the topic of conversation changes on a dime.

In an interview with TVNewser last week, the pair was asked what subjects they would discuss on the show. Politics, economics and sports all came up.

“We are waiting for a big athlete to enter politics and talk about economic policy,” Spitzer quipped, eliciting a laugh from Parker. From there, Spitzer turned the conversation to an anecdote about MLB hall of famer and U.S. Senator Jim Bunning:

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well.”

Backstory: Sanchez, who joined CNN in 2004, was let go today after controversial comments he made yesterday during a radio interview. During Pete Dominick‘s satellite radio show yesterday, Sanchez called Comedy Central host Jon Stewart a “bigot” and went on to say, “a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart.” Audio below:

It was just last Friday that Sanchez’s boss CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein was shown the door.  In his first major personnel decision, Sanchez’s dismissal was handled by new CNN/U.S. president Ken Jautz. Sanchez anchored the 3-5pmET block on CNN called “Rick’s List.” CNN Newsroom will run in its place beginning Monday.  Until last Wednesday, Sanchez had also hosted an 8pmET edition of “Rick’s List.”

Sanchez’s appearance on the radio show was part of a tour for his new book, “Conventional Idiocy.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Notable tvnewsers in the crowd: CNN’s new president, Ken Jautz who put Behar on the air when he was still running HLN. Also, the newly appointed HLN boss Scot Safon now one week into his new job and sales EVP Greg D’Alba.

Some notable celebrities were there as well: actress Lorraine Bracco, comedian Mario Cantone, and Coutess LuAnn from the Real Housewives of New York.

Behar’s show has increased viewership of HLN’s 9pmET timeslot 14% over the last year, according to the Daily News.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Jon is a respected journalist and an expert in the digital realm. We’ve enjoyed competing with CNN during his tenure and I’m confident he’ll be an asset to any news organization he joins in the future. I look forward to continuing our personal dialogue.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Ken Jautz  joined CNN in 1989 as bureau chief in Germany. Prior to that he had been an international correspondent for The Associated Press.  New York-based Jautz has been EVP of CNN’s business news operations and the CNNfn network, as well as CNN Money. Most recently he ran CNN’s sister channel, HLN but reported directly to CNN/Worldwide President Jim Walton.

In December 2008, Jautz oversaw the name change of the channel from Headline News to HLN. He brought  Glenn Beck (with Jautz, left in Oct. 2007) and Nancy Grace to primetime and turned the lineup into a strong competitor — in fact beating on some nights — the network he will now run. As EVP of CNN/Worldwide Jautz outranked Jon Klein in the CNN hierarchy. Now he adds Klein’s old job as head of CNN’s domestic news channel to his long CNN resume.

Scot Safon is a more interesting hire. Safon a marketing guy,  joined CNN Worldwide in 2002 from Turner’s TNT. He was promoted to EVP/Chief Marketing Officer in 2007. Atlanta-based Safon is behind most of the branding you see on CNN, including CNN=Politics and the marketing campaigns for Anderson Cooper 360, Nancy Grace, Joy Behar, Larry King Live, The Situation Room and Fareed Zakaria GPS. .

In a conference call with reporters this morning after the news was announced, CNN/Worldwide president Jim Walton said of Safon, “While it may not seem on the surface to be a logical progression, what I can tell you is this: Scot has been a direct report of mine for many years, he has been a senior part of my team and he has been involved in and contributed to all of the big decisions that have been made here over the past few years. That includes the journalism.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Jon has made important contributions to the CNN story, and he leaves with our respect and friendship, and with my sincere thanks,” wrote CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton in a memo to employees his morning.

“The CNN I’m leaving today is demonstrably stronger than the one I inherited almost six years ago – both editorially and financially,” wrote Klein in a memo to staff. “That is a tribute to your passion for telling stories that matter, your talent for uncovering the truth without layering on destructive bluster or partisan spin, and your willingness to indulge my appetite for innovation and change.”

Klein’s departure and Jautz’s hire was first reported this morning by FTVLive.

The timing of Klein’s departure is strange, given that the new primetime lineup he helped design is yet to debut on the network. The first of those programs, “Parker Spitzer,” will premiere in early October. Piers Morgan will take over the 9 PM timeslot from Larry King early next year.

Klein had been president of CNN’s U.S. network since 2004, signing a four-year contract extension in 2007. he is the second major news chief to announce his departure in recent weeks. ABC News president David Westin announced he would leave that company earlier this month.

The memos from Walton and Klein are after the jump.

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