A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
Dave Marash: Why I Quit
I think that Al Jazeera English is a very competent, very professional news organization that does a particularly great job south of the equator, but tends to report almost everything from the point of view of either the Arabic-speaking world or at the very least what you might call the post-colonial world. And since I’m not authentically those things, I don’t belong there.
RFE/RL Report: Al-Qaeda Media Network Threatened
A landmark RFE/RL study on the nexus of ties and coordination between the global network of al-Qaeda affiliates argues that the marketing techniques that catapulted Al-Qaeda to worldwide fame are rapidly becoming obsolete as user-created content sweeps the Web.
Hybl heads Washington commission
Bill Hybl is the new Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. He was sworn in earlier this week by Vice President Dick Cheney in Washington, D.C.
China’s Neighbors Feel Its Expanding Power
China is using the “soft power”of culture and ideas to make friends all over the region. One example is a Chinese language and cultural center at Mae Fh Luang University in northern Thailand. Several graceful, pagoda-like buildings set around a pond form a center that was built and paid for by the Chinese government. “Very clever. They are very clever,” says Vanchai Sirichana, the university’s president. “They understand the way of life here…using friendship as a spearhead to do the business. And it’s working…”
It’s not a scholarship, but a ‘school-a-ship’
Dreams of visiting distant lands have come true for students aboard The Scholar Ship, a cruise liner that was turned into a school ship. What sets this one apart from many other school ships is that it is the first “International School Ship,” a joint program between universities from seven countries.
‘Kingdom-India Strategic Relationship Need of Hour’
Several proposals were presented at the meeting to promote Saudi-India strategic relationship. Those included setting up of an exclusive Indo-Arab University, motivating more Saudi students to go to India for higher studies, activating the existing Saudi-Indian Business Council, establishing a business conclave and holding closer interactions in cultural fields — like nominating India as a guest country in the Janadriya Festival.
Axis of the unloved
A BBC poll released this week found that Iran has edged out Israel as the most unpopular country in the world, 54 percent to 52%, with Pakistan coming in a close third. Welcome to the Axis of the Unloved...Influencing opinion rather than being victims of it should be the focus of Israel's public diplomacy efforts. We need to connect with Generations Y and Z - born since 1980 - who get much of their news unfettered and unvetted from FaceBook, MySpace and other social networking sites. And we must address the crying need for an Israel-based 24/7 satellite news channel.
How the Next Administration Can Fix the Military, U.S. Diplomacy and More
Is it possible to fix U.S. soft power without fixing the corporate control that has come to dominate every aspect of American culture, in particular the media? Can the world still differentiate between American values and corporate policy?
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