Former NBC News President Steve Capus has the stature and news chops for the position but has some reservations about Al Jazeera's potential with the American public.
Former editor of Newsweek Mark Whitaker might just have the ability to build the cultural and media chops Al Jazeera wants.
Former CNN President Jon Kelin believes that this could be a ripe opportunity for a news network to occupy CNN's former niche - hard-core reporting with serious journalists.
"NBC Nightly News" producer Alexandra Wallace is the lone female being considered for the position, but at this point her interest is not known.
Former ABC News chief David Westin is said to have been advising the network but is not interested or being considered for the job fulltime.
A former president of CBS News, Andrew Heyward is another name on the short list.
Producer of Anderson Cooper's nightly newscast, David Doss is thought not to be "mature" enough just yet for this leadership role.
The former president of Current TV and a veteran of CNN, David Bohrman appears to be a strong candidate, but he may already be out of the running.
MSNBC chief Phil Griffin's name has been mentioned, but he is not likely to leave his current job.
