Why Al Jazeera On U.S. Cable Is A Good Thing

It’s called diversity of opinion, not to mention something conservatives claim to love: the free marketplace and consumer choice.

Nonetheless, Al Jazeera could bring an important international perspective to American audiences and should be given a chance to prove itself commercially before cable companies remove Current TV from their lineups. If Al Jazeera America, the channel that the company plans to create in New York to replace Current, fails to attract a critical mass of viewers, cable companies would be justified in removing it. On Thursday, Time Warner suggested that it might add the new channel to its systems in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere later “as the service develops.”

… Al Jazeera often brings a nuance to international stories that can be lacking on American networks, because it has more foreign correspondents and overseas bureaus than many established Western networks. Its coverage of the Arab Spring won a George Foster Peabody Award and its English-language service is broadcast to more than 250 million homes in 130 countries, including Britain, South Africa and India.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.