In the midst of surging overseas interest in China following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hu founded Global Times's English edition. Given how much of what Global Times prints is obvious anathema to liberal Western readers, it's worth noting that another recurring topic is criticism of China's own culture of official corruption.

In a clear act of public diplomacy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on BBC Persian this week to engage the network's Iranian audience on a range of issues regarding the state of relations between Iran and America.

In addition to hosting major international events such as the Olympics and World Expo, more Chinese officials are now writing articles for influential foreign publications. Analysts say the move shows an eagerness on the part of Beijing to make its policies understood elsewhere in the world.

Sharjah has opened its doors to national and international media, and pledged to offer real-time responses to incidents and inquires for information about incidents taking place in the emirate. The Sharjah Media Centre will facilitate the flow of information and news from different departments in the emirate to local and international media.

WikiLeaks has had some major successes...But judged by its own ambitions -- and the worst fears of its detractors ...the grand experiment of turning WikiLeaks into a conduit for "mass document leaking" has been an abysmal failure.

From October 24 through November 11, emerging journalists from 105 countries will participate in the U.S. Department of State’s Edward R. Murrow Program. The flagship initiative...will connect international journalists with their American counterparts, where they will meet in both the newsroom and in United States’ journalism classrooms.

Clinton’s 2009 trip is widely acknowledged as a high point in US public diplomacy efforts within Pakistan ... Her accessible manner, blunt talk and willingness to engage directly with different strata of Pakistani society earned her much respect and helped complicate the fiery, nationalist debate around the Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation.

LONDON --- For much of the past decade, “soft power” has been touted as a means for making foreign policy more effective by emphasizing enticement rather than coercion, conversation rather than conflict. The concept has won applause, but putting it into practice has often been half-hearted, especially by nations that possess significant military muscle. They prefer macho diplomacy and remain wary of the public diplomacy that puts soft power into practice.