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.
After Monday’s Interview, What Obama Must Now Do in the Middle East
In short, a re-orientation of U.S. policy should be viewed through the prism of Arab societies rather than Arab regimes. This means shifting support from governments to publics, by treating Arab populations as moral and political agents in their own right, not as subjects but as citizens with legitimate demands.
Q&A: “U.S. Must Take Seriously What the World Thinks”
Foreign public opinion must be taken into serious consideration. "Selling" a policy framed in a vacuum in Washington without considering the reactions of overseas publics has little chance of success.
Obama’s Personal ‘Public Diplomacy’: A Very Preliminary Assessment
Collectively, the new president's actions and words constitute an unusually high-profile and personalized "public diplomacy" campaign to correct what he perceives as a serious strategic problem for the United States: a souring of the relationship between Washington and "the Muslim world."
Presidential Petitioning: Musician begs Obama to appoint secretary of culture
Thus far, about 120,000 people have signed an online petition calling for President Barack Obama to appoint a secretary of culture, a position that does not yet exist. The online petition, started by two New York bassists, was inspired by music producer Quincy Jones, who has been advocating the idea for about 10 years. Jones said in an interview in November that Americans need a minister of culture, just like Germany, France and Finland already have; he also has said that he would be willing to beg Obama to appoint the minister.
Dramatic Transformation of Professional Diplomacy
High-speed communication introduced what has been aptly described as “instant tele-journalism”. This added profoundly to the influence of the media, and in turn, the power of public opinion on modern diplomacy, and willynilly, on the functions of the diplomat. Far-reaching developments of the communications revolution among other things have brought about the birth of what may be referred to as, ‘media diplomacy’.
CNN Appoints Three Foreign Correspondents
CNN Worldwide has announced it is adding three new international correspondents, in Afghanistan, China and the United Arab Emirates. This brings the CNN total of international newsgathering locations to 33, according to the release.
Wanted: an Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy
The Under Secretary, the equivalent to a four-star general, must be the leader of the Government's "influence enterprise" and must work closely with the Secretary of State to restructure and refocus the State Department to educate, empower, equip, and encourage the abilities of what amounts to a "Department of Non-State" within the Department of State.
Gallup Survey: Iraq Matters Most (If You Don’t Include Israel)
I wanted to call attention to the Gallup Organization's latest report on findings of its ongoing surveys of Arab public opinion. There's a lot of questionable survey research done in the Middle East, but Gallup (along with Pew) is generally considered the gold standard for such survey research.
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