Guest Post by John Paluszek It’s now apparent that Tunis and the many newly-“Occupied” cities are virtual neighbors – not geographically, of course, but in the newly-aroused global Vox Populi Community. These “neighbors”, although in vastly different societies, have common fundamental demands: “justice”, “fairness” and “voice”. In this historic year of 2011 something seminal seems […]
“Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons” ~ R. Buckminster Fuller Much has been made about how the late technology giant Steve Job “changed our lives”. The Discovery Channel, not to be outdone by all the media hoopla surrounding his death, will air a one-hour documentary on Sunday 30 October […]
Last week, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale delivered the opening remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations’ forum entitled, “Strengthening U.S. Engagement with the World: A Review of U.S. Public Diplomacy.” Her brief speech addressed the State Department’s broad goals for the future of public diplomacy in policy making. The […]
Here in Rovinj, a picture perfect little town on Croatia’s Adriatic Coast, the third annual “Media Weekend Festival,” September 23-25, brought together over 2,500 media, PR, advertising and communications specialists from countries of the former Yugoslavia to hear from international experts on new trends in the media field, assess the regional media situation and provide […]
In a week of tragic accidents, the WikiLeaks story may be the toughest one to bear, horrifying both for what it showed about the current state of war and what it says about the current state of our media environment. As most know, thanks to the whistle blowers at WikiLeaks, U.S. military video footage, purloined […]
Along the gradient of power, there’s a possible mix of “soft” and “hard” varieties. The public diplomacy originating at the U.S. State Department is commonly associated with the “soft” power of peaceful persuasion and cultural appeal; the foreign information efforts at the Pentagon are often in the service of some tangible “hard” power goal. The […]
Readers of this space know there’s been a recent flurry of public activity by those who set the course of U.S. communications efforts with foreign publics. This week’s unusual Congressional hearing on the State Department’s public diplomacy programs featured not only the current ranking official for public diplomacy, Under Secretary Judith McHale, talking about her […]
Many journalists and commentators have examined and illuminated the role of new media and technology in the on-going protests in Iran. Exposing the electoral fraud perpetrated by Ahmedinejad last year and the violent repression of resultant protests certainly called for the skill of traditional journalists and the new media capabilities of Iranian citizen witnesses and […]
The other day The Wall Street Journal ran a good summary of China’s conflict with Google. It looks like we’re in for another international war of words but, this time, it won’t be a classic Cold War confrontation over political-military issues, but rather a war of words over words — censorship, to be precise. China’s […]
The Obama Administration is back to practicing public diplomacy — with the American public. Stung by the loss in last week’s election in Massachusetts, the White House is bringing back public outreach specialist David Plouffe, the mild-mannered star of the Obama election campaign. Plouffe had stepped back from politics after the election to write a […]
The year 2009 in public diplomacy was a year for re-branding America in the world. The first African-American in the White House, who also happened to be the most eloquent U.S. President since John Kennedy, would have made for an auspicious year for the international image of the U.S. in any event. In fact, however, […]
When I was growing up in India, the U.S. Information Services used to serve as ambassadors of American culture, ideas, and ideals. That entire approach to diplomacy was shuttered after the Cold War and even after 9/11 remains moribund. — Fareed Zakaria, “The Post-American World” Since 9/11, the U.S. military for the first time has […]
Now that the big Asia trip is history, it’s natural to judge it on the basis of known results from its biggest portion — Obama’s three days in China. For the American president, there were no obvious breakthroughs on exchange rates or trade, climate or human rights, so maybe this visit was not the most […]
An overseas trip by a U.S. president is always costly, logistically challenging, and full of colorful backdrops. President Obama’s trip to Japan, Singapore, China and Korea is no exception. If anything, there will be more excitement than usual, since it is his first trip to the region as President and there is still tremendous foreign […]
In Washington last week I sat down with a group of bloggers to interview two smart and savvy foreign correspondents. The fact that they were women, representing influential media from the Middle East, made their views interesting on several levels. Nadia Bilbassy is a correspondent with MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Co.) and Joyce Karam is […]