The U.S. government’s public diplomacy institutions are running on autopilot. While other nations, such as China, are ramping up public diplomacy and soft-power capabilities, the attention of the political leaders in this country is focused elsewhere: the budget deficit, the economy, the presidential election, etc. The effect is that the…
Congress should undertake much overdue oversight of the management practices and structures of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). U.S. international broadcasting needs professional management and a transparent structure and does not have it at the moment. Consistently Inconsistent …
The U.S. government is struggling to coordinate the volumes of information from the many agencies and departments that make up slices of the public diplomacy and strategic communications pie. Congress needs to use its oversight to evaluate the variety of agencies, set specific goals, and ensure that the…
Proponents of U.S. international broadcasting to China got some reason for hope last month when a group of congressmen, led by Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R–CA) produced a letter in support of continued funding for communication to the vast Chinese populace. The congressmen propose to fence off a portion of the…
With all of the upheaval in the Middle East, the question naturally arises: What lessons are the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and especially the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), likely to have learned from all of this upheaval? Particularly, are the Chinese likely to interpret it as underscoring the need…
Recent strategic decisions by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) on Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts to China suggest that the time has come for Congress to take a serious look at the way the U.S. government manages its international broadcasting services. Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her…
One of the mysteries surrounding U.S. international broadcasting is why more money spent each year is buying less and less airtime. Even as the budget for such operations continues to grow, U.S. broadcasting services are being cut back—and, no less, in parts of the world that are of immense strategic…
With the proliferation and fragmentation of traditional news sources, what do most people identify as the medium they trust most for information? According to a new poll by Ofcom, the independent regulating authority of the British communications industries, the answer is radio. Of the poll’s 1,824 respondents, 66 percent said…
Controversy has swirled around the Smith–Mundt Modernization Act since it passed mark-up as an amendment to the House...…
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) recently released its 2013 budget request, which slashes Voice of America...…
Rolling up her sleeves should be new Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Tara Sonenshine’s first act in office. For the...…
More than 30 years have passed since Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote about the “Soft Voice of America” in an article that...…
The decision to cut Voice of America (VOA) Broadcasting to China has attracted a good deal of congressional attention,...…
The Broadcasting Board of Governors will receive $10 million under the compromise spending deal reached last week....…
The ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wants to know why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...…
Just weeks after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton complained to Congress that America is losing the information war...…
Three weeks ago the BBC World Service Trust, a charity for the British network, was angling for a share of State...…
Just what is it with the Obama Administration and state broadcasters? Not content with sticking by NPR after the House...…