U.S. President Barack Obama has once again appealed directly to Iranian people over the BBC Persian service on Friday, in a rare showcase of technology surpassing the boundaries of official communication channels.

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.

He blames the media for creating a "witch's brew" by shaping "political, socio-economic, religious, perceptions" in the Middle East. But perhaps most surprisingly, Imam Feisal goes so far as proposing that the media not report on suicide attacks, an argument that naïvely underestimates the power of new digital media outlets, like YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter.

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.

...counterterrorism should be broadened to take advantage of the assets of public diplomacy. By reaching those at the base of the pyramid before they are radicalized to the point of violence, public diplomacy efforts could reduce the appeal of terrorists' propaganda. This will require a rethinking of public diplomacy strategy, with less emphasis on "love us" public relations efforts and more on projects that directly shape individuals' thinking and affect their lives.

The queen of Syria's morning drive-time radio plays Western rock and Arabic favorites. Honey al-Sayed opens her show — a mix of Arabic and English — with the words, "Good morning, Syria" and offers horoscopes, daily currency exchange rates and banter with truck drivers who call in to pass on the latest jokes.

Countries as diverse as the United States and North Korea have all struggled at the nexus of statehood and social media. Until now, none have had to purchase the Twitter handle of their country's name from the owner of a porn site. That dubious honor goes to Israel, which recently purchased the user name @israel from Israel Meléndez, a Spanish man living in Miami, who registered the name back in 2007, early in the microblogging website's history.

Despite the dozens of reports on U.S. public diplomacy, it is actually quite rare to see an in-depth study on public diplomacy, particularly in the areas of government broadcasting..Even more rare is an in-depth public analysis of the public diplomacy of another country by another country. This week, an Australian think tank, the Lowy Institute, published such a report.