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The Public Diplomacy Blog is intended to stimulate dialog among scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals from around the world in the public diplomacy sphere. The opinions represented here are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

BREACHING THE FIREWALL
JUN 5, 2009 - 10:12AM PDT
Posted by Alvin Snyder
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U.S. government international communicators shifted into max overdrive from both sides of that protective "firewall," to report on what may become known as one of the great White House public diplomacy efforts ever: President Obama's June 4 address from Cairo, Egypt to the Middle East and beyond. The speech was unquestionably both a news event and a public diplomacy activity, so there are times when the mythical "firewall," to protect the independence of government international journalistic endeavors, may be ethically breached. This was one of them.

From the State Department, where there is an Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy, the speech... FULL TEXT
 
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THE CAIRO SPEECH: A QUICK ANALYSIS
JUN 4, 2009 - 2:00PM PDT
Posted by Rob Asghar
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Some early analyses of President Obama's historic address to the Muslim world in Cairo today have noted that some of Obama's professions of unity with the Muslim world merely echo words President Bush said after 9/11. The implication is that deeds, not words, matter.

Words can have remarkable power, in and of themselves. President Bush could say similar words to Obama – but when he also spoke about "crusades," or about posses that would bring back Osama bin Laden "dead or alive," it struck many Muslims as though he was just having too much fun with his new "war of... FULL TEXT
 
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MOUNT EVEREST IN CAIRO
JUN 4, 2009 - 8:10AM PDT
Posted by Mark Dillen
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It may come to be known as the “new beginnings” speech. The speech that Barack Obama delivered today at Cairo University was probably not his best speech, but it may be his most important and most widely disseminated ever. The U.S. government distributed it immediately in many languages, it was broadcast live in its entirety by Al Jazeera and the other networks of the Arab world, and the White House and State Department used social media such as Facebook to extend its reach and impact. It could be the most consequential presidential speech to a foreign audience in history, certainly... FULL TEXT
 
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SETTING THE SCENE
JUN 2, 2009 - 9:30AM PDT
Posted by Mark Dillen
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As President Obama embarks for Riyadh and Cairo this evening, the "scene setters" appear: the BBC headlines "what could be one of the most important speeches of his presidency"; America's own NPR features a pre-departure interview focused on the Cairo speech as a "high-profile opportunity to reshape America's image among Muslim countries."

We're all familiar how, in professional sports, athletes and coaches try to avoid rash comments before a big game. The same is often true in politics as officials try to manage expectations before a big event. This time, however, the Obama White House has set the bar high.... FULL TEXT
 
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IS PUBLIC DIPLOMACY JOURNALISM DEAD?
MAY 29, 2009 - 1:15PM PDT
Posted by Alvin Snyder
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Maybe public diplomacy journalism is only dying, or maybe it has just become boring to write about the subject these days. This seems to be so on both sides of the pond.

I first noted the observation by John Brown, Adjunct Professor of Liberal Studies at Georgetown University, who puts forth his informative (and always colorful) Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review, and who does not see as much being written today about PD as in the past. Professor Brown told me he has not made a "scientific study, but…I find far fewer PD items than I did say last... FULL TEXT
 
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