The introduction of television was a defining moment in Egypt and the Arab world. "We launched television in Libya, in Kuwait, in Aleppo and in Syria. We emerged as the cultural beacon of the Arab world," Abdel-Qader Hatem, Egypt's and the Arab world's first minister of information told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Since 1948, Cold War legislation has been tying the hands of practitioners of U.S. public diplomacy and international broadcasting. The law in question is the Smith-Mundt Act, which was intended to allow the State Department to counter Soviet propaganda in foreign media...

Some of America’s most popular shows, including “CSI,” appear on Youku.com and Tudou.com just hours after being broadcast in the United States, usually with Chinese subtitles...

Recent ambitious global expansion maneuvers by China's State media have brought both acclaim and suspicion, especially in Western nations, whose observation of the Chinese media landscape has been mostly shaped by their understanding of State-owned media.

The U.S. Congress has passed a bill to renew the license for North Korean dissident broadcaster Radio Free Asia on a permanent basis. RFA has brought news and information chiefly about South Korea and the U.S to North Korean people via shortwave.

After months of gridlock, the Senate is finally set to confirm all eight of President Obama's nominees for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the independent agency that oversees U.S. media efforts abroad, now that Sen. Tom Coburn has agreed to lift his holds on the nominees.

America’s international broadcasting operations are a key element in our diplomatic efforts to communicate our values to the rest of the world and to bring news and information to closed societies.