Summer of “Splitnik”: Remembering the American National Exhibition in Moscow

Last week I attended "Face-off to Facebook: From the Nixon-Khruschev Debate to Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century", a conference sponsored by George Washington University's Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs. The event was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the American National Exhibition in Moscow and the infamous impromptu tête-à-tête that took place between Vice President Richard Nixon and General Secretary Nikita Khruschev. Read More

More History on a Murrow Obsession

Edward R. Murrow's famous remark about the importance of "the last three feet" to bridge personal contact was not unexpectedly raised at last week's conference that I attended at George Washington University, on the 50th anniversary of the Nixon-Krushchev "Kitchen Debate" at the 1959 U.S. Exhibition in Moscow. But few may know that Murrow raised the last few feet issue informally, and more than once, with colleagues at CBS News in New York long before he uttered them as director of the U.S. Information Agency. Read More

The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs

The Fletcher School at Tufts University

Edward R. Murrow’s contributions to public diplomacy are universally acknowledged but rarely explained. That’s a shame, because Murrow left behind more than just a few often-cited comments about the place of public diplomacy in foreign policy. His real legacy in this field is to be found in his unwavering insistence on maintaining values — often values rooted in journalism — to ensure the integrity of public diplomacy.

World’s Reaction to President Obama and the Arrest of Henry Louis Gates: Yawn

The reaction in much of the world was muted, or less. But in some countries that have racial tensions similar to the U.S., the coverage was less muted — and looked familiar. Read More

Public Diplomacy and Legitimacy in the Age of Transparency

At a recent conference, David Weinberger argued that the future of the news industry is in transparency. Read More

Toward a More Imaginative U.S. Public Diplomacy

Barack Obama may be the best exponent of American public diplomacy since Benjamin Franklin, inspiring a newly hopeful attitude about the United States in many parts of the world. But beyond the president himself U.S. public diplomacy lacks coherence and impact. Read More

“Uncle” Walter and the American Image

"Uncle" seems almost condescending — I don't mean it so. Read More

PD in Pakistan, and Why Al Qaeda Knows Something the U.S. Could Learn

One of the mysteries of our day is that American hard power has been so ineffective for so many years in apprehending Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri), leaving the group free to use public diplomacy to speak to Muslim publics — especially to a Pakistani nation that distrusts the United States. Read More

Obama Team Effectively Utilizes Online Social Networking for Public Diplomacy

Through the use of new technology, President Obama has made it clear that when he speaks in Ghana this Saturday, July 11, he intends to move from monologue to dialogue as the U.S. State Department opens up venues for greater public participation in the conversation. Read More

A Tale of Two Posts

Today, a tale about what journalism has become, with implications for all those concerned with the weakening firewall between “news” and “message.” It’s a tale of two Posts — Washington and Huffington. A revolution is underway in the news media, one neatly illustrated by how these two competitive news gathering organizations — the Washington Post and Huffington Post — have themselves made news in recent days. And, I’ll warn you, if you don’t already know, it’s the Washington Post that comes out looking bad. Read More

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