International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy
U.S. and Foreign Efforts
Greater official U.S. interest in public diplomacy began in the wake of 9/11 with the rise of the “Why do they hate us?” introspection. The imperative was to “move the needle” as quickly as possible from “Hate the United States” to, if not exactly “Love” at least, “Like” the United States. The main vehicle was to be public diplomacy (PD), defined here as a government’s attempt to engage the local population of a country directly, rather than through official interactions with a host government. PD has many facets, from government-sponsored educational exchanges, cultural events, sports and science envoys, to public…
