More than three months after buying Al Gore’s Current TV with a grand vision of launching a US-focused network, Al Jazeera’s plans are still not ready for prime time.
The new network, to be called Al Jazeera America, has still not hired a news chief, finished its studio or settled on office space, The Post has learned.
As a result, it is certain to miss its ambitious internal goal of launching sometime in June, sources said.
Some close to the network are now whispering “summer” as a target date for a launch — with a few fearing the Qatari government-owned network may not be ready to roll until near Labor Day.
“This is not a ratings race,” said a source, “This is a get-on-the-air race. June is not going to happen. The best guess is August or September.”
International executive Ehab Al Shihabi and his staff are trying to hire a news boss and have reached out to a host of well-respected names, including former NBC News chief Steve Capus and former CNNers Jon Klein, David Bohrman and David Doss.
So far, no one has jumped at the offer and at least one executive said he was a bit squeamish about the source of the network money.
Network brass have named just two executives to the service, former CNN business journalist Ali Velshi, who will create a daily prime-time business show, and investigative reporter Ed Pound.
Al Jazeera persuaded Ken Ripley, Current TV’s former ad sales chief, to come aboard, The Post has learned, but is still without a permanent distribution chief to negotiate the critical carriage agreements.
A rep for Al Jazeera declined comment.