In his interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS’s NewsHour, former CPD Director, Philip Seib, explains the difference between Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera Arabic. Professor Seib stated, “I think that has been set up to be a news organization that represents not only the Al Jazeera brand, but the Qatar brand.” Seib also comments on the network’s budget and accessibility in America.

The Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, hosted an evening event on digital diplomacy titled, “Real-Time World, Real-Time Diplomacy: The Challenges Ahead.” The distinguished panel chaired by Darrell West from the Brookings Institution included P.J. Crowly, the former State Department Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Katie Dowd, the Senior Adviser to the Chief Technology Office at the White House, Zeehat Rahman, the Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues, and Gianni Riotta, author.

The 2013 CHASS National Forum held in the Parliament House Canberra on ‘Civility in Australia’ included a panel titled, ‘Soft Power and Public Diplomacy.’ The discussion was chaired by Professor Naren Chitty, and panelsists included, Professor Jocelyn Chey, Professor The Hon Gareth Evans, The Hon John Howard, and Professor Joseph Siracusa.

At an event hosted by the British Council, John Holden discusses the three main findings of a recently published report on cultural diplomacy and soft power. The first finding of the report states that the digital age has changed the definition of culture. Second, with this changing definition, the “the cultural players” have also changed. They now include business, individuals, artists, sub-national governments, philanthropists, and cities. Thirdly, as Holden states, communication and culture are playing an even more important role in social change.

Over the few last years, U.S. international broadcasting has come under intense scrutiny. The Broadcasting Board of Governors has been labeled as “dysfunctional” by many including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on June 26 titled, “Broadcasting Board of Governors: An Agency ‘Defunct,’” in which former BBG Governors and Congressman debated the effectiveness of the VOA and the BBG. Although no solutions have been agreed upon, a new strategy is needed to revamp U.S. international broadcasting.