Cambridge Cable To Show Al-Jazeera Newscast

A community cable operator in Cambridge is joining a small but growing number of local television outlets across the country to begin broadcasting news by Al-Jazeera.

Cambridge Community Television Executive Director Susan Fleischman said interest in the Qatar-based news channel spiked after the Cambridge station showed portions of the Arab broadcaster's coverage of the recent uprising in Egypt.

Fleischman said viewers started calling and demanding more. She said the station will start showing an hour-long newscast from Al-Jazeera English News beginning April 1 at 10 p.m.

Fleischman said the move is designed to offer viewers a broader perspective on the world.

"It's harder and harder to find a different point of view," Fleischman said. "When you look at the mainstream media you are pretty much getting the same voice. We need a way to look around the world and see other people's views and other people's perspectives."

She said she has received no opposition to the decision.

"There's a misperception about Al-Jazeera. It's not at all promoting radical Islamic extremism. It's a very trusted news source. Once people give it a try they'll see that it's not promoting a particular point of view."

Cambridge joins a handful of other cable systems in Vermont, Ohio and Washington, D.C., to show Al-Jazeera news.

With reporting from The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom.