Al-Jazeera-America is Coming to Town

Al-Jazeera-America is coming to town, heading straight for your living room. Its executives, from their headquarters in the tiny Middle East gulf state of Qatar, have held preliminary talks in the U.S. with cable operators about carrying the channel's new English-language service, expected to debut early next year. Read More

The Loser in Iran Was the Western Media

AMMAN, JORDAN - JUNE 28, 2005 This op-ed piece was originally published on the Daily Star on June 28, 2005. The Daily Star is published in Beirut, and it is the "insert" paper that comes folded inside every copy of the International Herald Tribune published in the Middle East (except Ha'aretz in Israel). -- the Editor So Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is not Iran's new president. That result must come as a particular surprise to anyone who tried to follow the campaign by light of the Western media. Read More

Public Diplomacy’s Quiet Face Lift

What's hot in public diplomacy? Answer: C-SPAN, but of course. What's not? Answer: Everything else. An exaggeration, perhaps, but there's no denying that the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN), which provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress, press briefings, newsmaker speeches, public policy discussions, and much more, is mentioned more than anything else nowadays by those recognized as in the know who are trying to help "fix" America's lagging public diplomacy effort in the Middle East. Read More

Deep Throat’s Public Diplomacy Connection

So now we are told that Mark Felt may not have been Deep Throat after all. The watchdog group Accuracy in Media (AIM) quotes a Watergate scandal expert, Joan Huff, a Montana State University history professor, as saying that this is all "an orchestrated publicity stunt on the part of the (Washington) Post" to publicize Bob Woodward's new book. Read More

The Arab Satellite Song Boom: Is It Too Hot for US Government Broadcasters?

There's a boom in the popularity of Arab songs on the most successful channels in the Middle East. The digital music marketplace is very technically advanced, and U.S. government broadcasting isn't keeping pace. Apart from the news channels which carry on the war of ideas, many in Arab countries would rather watch video clips of Pussy Samir, a singer/dancer, and Boozy Samir (no relation perhaps, but also a singer/dancer), on the "Melody Hits" satellite channel and website, among many others like it. Read More

A Missed Opportunity

Dead Sea, Jordan - 23 May 2005 When I was younger I occasionally tagged along with my father at conferences in Europe where East-West security issues were discussed. Dad taught me two especially important lessons during this time: 1) find a seat on an aisle near the back, that way you can slip out quietly if things get really boring; and 2) all the really interesting stuff happens during the coffee breaks, at meal times and (especially) in the bar. Read More

The Medium Is the (Personal) Message, but Is DC Getting the Message?

We are being told how very "personal" communication is to become, with carefully-coiffed 60-second video messages containing content just for you or me, downloaded to our picture cell phones, or personal digital assistants, PDAs -- the instruments, not the individuals. One might wonder where U.S. public diplomacy fits into all this? Right now, it doesn't appear to be a good fit overall. Read More

Debate over Al Jazeera’s Role in Terrorism, Kidnapping Takes a New Turn

When I was new to Washington and interviewing for a job way back when, I asked a friend on the Hill to be a reference. "Sure," he said. "I'll be for you or against you, whichever does you the most good." It was an attempt at humor, of course, but humor is often a spoof on reality. For example, when the Nixon administration complained about Dan Rather's reporting to his bosses at CBS News, Rather's career took off. He was controversial and high profile, a newsmaker himself, and a good candidate for news anchor to generate ratings and advertising dollars. Read More

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