Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Walter Isaacson tonight announced a new direction for U.S. international broadcasting that "seizes on the latest media tools and technology to stay one step ahead of those who seek to repress free information around the world."

If competition is healthy—most conservatives believe it is—the challenge presented by China and other nations in the field of public diplomacy ought to be a wakeup call to the U.S. government.

President Barack Obama has proposed Carlos García-Pérez, a Cuban-American lawyer in Puerto Rico, to head the Radio/TV Martí stations that broadcast to Cuba, sources said Tuesday.

The Qatar-based media giant Al Jazeera has purchased a broadacasting station in the Bosnian capital. The operation is slated to begin January 2011 in Sarajevo and later be extended to the entire region. News of the Arab broadcaster's Bosnian expansion has produced diverse reactions.

With its slick graphics, smiling young news anchors, and round-the-clock coverage, RT is like any other news channel. But there is one major difference, aside from the content; RT, which stands for Russia Today, is paid for by the Kremlin.

The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, has said that the government should spend more rather than less on the World Service after it emerged that it is facing huge budget cuts. He told MPs today the corporation is engaged in "robust" discussions with the government about a reduction in the service's £272m Foreign Office grant.

About 30 non-commercial TV stations around the U.S. are airing “MHz Network Worldview,” which includes programs from Al Jazeera English, the Kremlin’s “Russia Today” and other foreign state-controlled instruments of propaganda.

The Internet has become an increasingly important part of the distribution channels for U.S.-funded international broadcasting operations. Here’s one example. Radio Liberty’s Persian-language radio service Radio Farda broadcasts on short- and medium-wave, the Internet and satellite radio to Iran 24/7.