Associates' Roundtable

The Influence of Media on Public Diplomacy

October 28, 2009

Panel

Panelists:

Walter Douglas, Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
John Walcott, Washington Bureau Chief for the McClatchy Company
Sonni Efron, Washington-based journalist specializing in foreign policy and national security issues and a Senior Fellow with GlobalSecurity

A discussion on the natural tension between public diplomacy and the news media, how the Department of State defines public diplomacy, how it is practicing public diplomacy today, and how this is changing due to digital technologies.

The Department of State's role has been that of taking policy directives from Washington and determining how to implement them in the field on a per country basis. The role of fieldwork is important, and public diplomacy has recently grown in importance as we become more involved overseas in attempting to win hearts and minds, especially in the Middle East and South Asia.

Col. Scott Murray with Thomas Hensley, ISD Associate There have been efforts to increase interagency cooperation to fix the disconnect that exists between the making and selling of policy. By having a voice in the policy planning stages, public policy practitioners can help avoid the creation of unsellable policies.

In the past, the government has not been good at crafting "cool" messages, so the US Government's role in foreign media has shifted from being content creator to a content provider. In many instances, it is more important to give exposure to the right native voices than to try to broadcast our own message.

This has become more difficult with the shift away from traditional media in some areas. Those who wish to spread misinformation and portray the United State's role as a negative one have all the same tools we do-such as blogs, YouTube, twitter, etc. However, traditional media, especially in the developing world, retains great importance and should not be undervalued.

Areas in which the United State's public diplomacy efforts might be improved included taking better advantage of Pro-American moods, putting more emphasis on exporting what America does well, and capitalizing on American relief and humanitarian aid.

Written by Michael D. Jarand, ISD Intern [School of Foreign Service, International Politics, Class of 2011].