Al Jazeera International Rep Says Network Is Still “Targeting” A Late May Launch

TVNewser broke the news about Lucia Newman‘s defection to to Al Jazeera International eleven days ago. Now the AP has picked it up: “Lucia Newman, CNN’s first and only correspondent based in Havana, has jumped to the new Al-Jazeera International network, which plans to begin operations later this spring.”

The wire says: “The network is still targeting a launch in late May, spokeswoman Rana Jazayerli said. She labeled as misleading some reports that circulated last week that the network would have trouble meeting that target.”

But it wasn’t the “reports” that were “misleading” — it was Al Jazeera Satellite Network director general Wadah Khanfar, who said the channel “has been delayed, probably to the summer … for technical reasons,” according to AFP…