http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com The World Affairs Blog Network Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:22:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Now that the big Asia trip is history, it's natural to judge it on the basis of known results from its biggest portion -- Obama's three days in China.  For the American president, there were no obvious breakthroughs on exchange rates or trade, climate or human rights, so maybe this ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/20/take-a-bow/ [caption id="attachment_326" align="alignleft" width="231" caption="On the Road Again"][/caption] An overseas trip by a U.S. president is always costly, logistically challenging, and full of colorful backdrops.  President Obama's trip to Japan, Singapore, China and Korea is no exception.  If anything, there will be more excitement than usual, since it is his first ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/12/you-can-bank-on-it/ In Washington last week I sat down with a group of bloggers to interview two smart and savvy foreign correspondents.  The fact that they were women, representing influential media from the Middle East, made their views interesting on several levels. Nadia Bilbassy is a correspondent with MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Co.) ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/10/05/obamas-pr-team-drops-one/ A huge banner with a photo of David Plouffe festooned a media conference I attended in Croatia last week.  The former Obama campaign manager is coming to Zagreb later this year and those running local election campaigns are eager to welcome "the unsung hero" who "helped restore the trust in ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/09/22/under-attack/ Fellow-blogger Ted Lipien makes some valid points about seemingly basic mistakes that the State Department has made in public diplomacy in the new Administration.  In particular, he notes, a chance was missed earlier this month to express solidarity with the victims of terrorist attacks in Ingushetia.  Eventually the Department did ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/08/29/pd-101/ Public opinion is often hard to measure, but it's a safe bet that assaults on a country's sovereignty -- real or perceived -- can quickly inflame that nation's public opinion.    We see it in a whole range of issues this summer, from the health reform debate in the United ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/08/21/sovereignty-vs-security/ “Uncle” seems almost condesending -- I don’t mean it so.  Walter Cronkite was more than an avuncular presence in American homes.  He was a serious newsman at a time when TV news was being invented and we were all a bit in awe of the new medium and its ability ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/07/21/uncle-walter-and-the-american-image/ Today, a tale about what journalism has become, with implications for all those concerned with the weakening firewall between "news" and "message." It's a tale of  two Posts  -- Washington and Huffington. A revolution is underway in the news media, one neatly illustrated by how these two competitive news gathering organizations -- ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/07/03/a-tale-of-two-posts/ As the slots get filled for new U.S. ambassadors, I have to modify my earlier praise:  too many sensitive overseas posts are being given to Obama fundraisers.  For every Carlos Pascual (veteran envoy now assigned to Mexico), there now appear to be several David Jacobsons (Illinois lawyer and Obama-Biden fundraiser ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/06/15/pay-to-play/ It may come to be known as the "new begininngs" 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 ... http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/06/04/mount-everest-in-cairo/