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.
On TV, Timing Is Everything at the Olympics
Getting American stars like Mr. Phelps and the gymnast Shawn Johnson to perform live in prime time was just one of the moves and unexpected breaks, some going back almost a decade, that set up the spectacular success NBC achieved in the Beijing Games that ended Sunday night.
After Glow of Games, What Next for China?
The elaborate closing ceremony that ended the Olympic Games on Sunday also ended nearly a decade in which the ruling Communist Party had made the Games an organizing principle in national life. Almost nothing has superseded the Olympics as a political priority in China.
Web Audience for Games Soars for NBC and Yahoo
The ratings for NBC’s television coverage of the Games were record-breaking this month. But the extent to which the Internet served as a supplement to television was unprecedented, and there were two clear winners: NBC’s own Web site and Yahoo’s Olympics section.
Beijing Olympics Provide No Gold Yet for China Stock Market, China Stocks Close Down
China Stocks closed down today going into the final week of the Beijing Olympics. China Stock Market Expert Jim Trippon expects a rally in Shanghai Stocks and Shenzhen Stocks after the games.
Olympics as PR: Here’s the new China
If proof were needed that the Olympic Games are meant to give China an image makeover, look no further than the 10-yuan note: Chairman Mao is out, the Bird's Nest is in. Perhaps just as symbolically, there are only enough of the bills that replace the late Communist Party leader's likeness with the iconic stadium to make them a collector's item - for most of the billions of dollars in transactions done each day in China, Mao Zedong is still the man.
Beijing Full of Reminders That Old Ways Still Pock Mark China’s New Face
To put on the Olympics, China used brute strength and appealed to nationalist sentiment in order to cast a spell that would change itself from beast into beauty. Edicts swept cars off the streets, outlawed spitting, provided scripts on how people should talk to foreigners, and rules about what they should wear. The spell worked not only on its people, but on the world, conjuring up a China that appeared modern, welcoming and eager to please.
China Gives 6 American Protesters 10-Day Detentions
A group of six Americans who were taken into custody on Tuesday as they tried to protest China’s rule in Tibet have been given 10-day detentions, the Chinese police confirmed Friday.
China Squelches Speech the Simple, Ancient Way
In the run-up to the Olympics, Chinese officials invited people wanting to protest to come into government offices and fill out forms identifying themselves and listing their complaints against the government, the slogans they intend to use and any other people wishing to join them in dissent. China lured them by saying it would happily allow peaceful demonstrations during the Olympic Games for those who register ahead of time and confine their protests to certain parks. Of 77 people who signed up, none got permits.
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