April 15

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"

--Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington

CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION

Expressing support for designation of April 2009 as `Jazz Appreciation Month' and April 25, 2009, as

`Willis Conover Day', and honoring the global impact of jazz music. Image from; on Conover, see

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts - Office of the Press Secretary, The White House: "Judith A. McHale, Nominee for Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Department of State: Ms. McHale is a leading media and communications executive whose career has been devoted to building companies and non-profit organizations dedicated to reaching out to and connecting people around the world. She is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Communications.

From 1987 to 2006, McHale helped build the parent company of the Discovery Channel into one of the world’s most extensive media enterprises, with more than 100 channels telecast in over 170 countries and 35 languages to more than 1 billion subscribers. In the 1990s, McHale launched the non-profit Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, which supplies free educational video programming to more than half a million students across Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. After two decades at Discovery, McHale extended her commitment to helping build opportunity for people in Africa. With the Global Environment Fund, a private equity firm, she worked to launch the GEF/Africa Growth Fund, an investment vehicle intending to focus on supplying expansion capital to small and medium-sized businesses that provide consumer goods and services in emerging African markets. McHale’s commitment to global outreach efforts also includes her service on the boards of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, and Vital Voices. She previously served on the board of Africare. The daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, McHale was born in New York City and grew up in Britain and apartheid-era South Africa. Before joining Discovery, McHale served as General Counsel for MTV Networks and helped guide the company’s international expansion." See also (1) (2) (3) (4); image from

Obama Appoints Judith McHale Chief U.S. Image-Maker - Dan Gilgoff, God & Country, U.S. News & World Report: "Much of McHale's job will be improving America's image in the Muslim world, and it will be interesting to follow her approach after the failures of George W. Bush's public diplomacy chiefs to make headway in that department."

Public Image Ltd. - Spencer Ackerman, Attackerman: "No alarms and no surprises here -- I reported that she [McHale] was a sure thing in February -- but after long long long delay, the State Department finally has Judith McHale, former Discovery Channel honcho, as its undersecretary-designate for public diplomacy, according to a fresh White House announcement. Now the hard questions can begin at her confirmation hearing about how she conceives of the position."

Obama Taps Former Discovery President McHale For State Department: Judith McHale to be nominated for under secretary For public diplomacy and public affairs - John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable: "McHale has been active in Democratic politics, including co-chairing the Democratic platform committee at the convention."

McHale Nominated as PD Chief - Steven R. Corman, COMOPS Journal: "Today the White House announced its intent to nominate Judith McHale as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (h/t Matt). Obviously the Obama administration couldn’t withstand the unrelenting pressure of the Count-Up Clock. I can only imagine the meetings that must have taken place over the weekend. Had I known it would be so effective, I would have put it up months ago. Yet we’re not quite ready to take it down. There is still a confirmation process to follow, so The Clock will come down once that process is complete." Chief image from

Still Waiting, Mr. President… - Softer Power: “In public diplomacy, though, as in all aspects of foreign relations and international affairs, there is no off-season, no time for anyone to rest on their laurels and step away from the task at hand. … The health and wellness of the United States’ image, credibility and security depend on a consistent and focused approach to public diplomacy responsibility.”

Debating Iran Diplomacy - Michael Rubin, National Review: "As analysts, we have to take what the situation is (in this case, President Obama's apparent decision to waive the demand that Iran cease suspension) and then recommend the best course forward through the prism of our perception of U.S. interests and so, putting aside the debate about whether Obama's decision is wise, this is what I worry about: … There is also a dangerous tendency in U.S. administrations to try to sequence approaches: Let's try diplomacy, and if that doesn't work, then we can try economic coercion, and if that fails, well maybe we can focus a bit more on public diplomacy, and military preparations might be a last resort. Strategy should be comprehensive. To borrow the military DIME paradigm: Strategy should have diplomatic, informational, military, and economic components being implemented simultaneously." Image from

Bias found in VOA broadcasts to Iran - Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times, posted at Iran Quarterly: "A State Department investigation has found serious flaws in Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts for Iran, including charges of political bias and cronyism and a management that doesn’t understand Farsi, the language of Iran."

State IG sees problems with VOA Persian News Network - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "It is difficult to find journalistic talent that also speaks Farsi. It is doubly so for US international broadcasting, which must recruit for both VOA PNN in Washington and for Radio Farda in Prague. (Radio Farda is now operated exclusively by RFE/RL, with VOA no longer participating.)" Image from

RFE/RL: Public Disaster Instead Of Public Diplomacy: Czech Parliament to Consider Issue of RFE/RL Personnel Policies - AZG DAILY #67: “Articles, commentaries and TV-programs highly critical of RFE/RL in connection with the ongoing court cases against it, appeared in different countries in different languages.”

State Department Gets Hip to Social Media - Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable: "Following in the footsteps of our very avant-garde President and his forays into Web broadcasting with the online town hall, Hulu-streamed press conference, and weekly radio address on YouTube, the State Department has decided to try social media on for size as well.

Most likely you won’t be able to make it (nor were you invited) to the Island of Trinidad and Tobago for The Summit of the Americas, where democratic leaders from 34 countries will gather on April 17 - 19 to discuss pressing issues. So, to make sure your voice is heard, the State Department has partnered with Howcast to create an online center — The Summit of the Americas Digital Town Hall — for social media sharing. … We’re impressed with the State Department’s attempt to create a social media hub for this type of event, but we’re a little surprised that they went with Howcast, a site known mainly for how-to videos, on the venture. It appears as if the platform provides several opportunities for social engagement and dynamic content, so we’ll keep an eye on the event to see how it all plays out." Above image: Ms. Van Grove (from her blog).

Web 2.0 - How Your Business Can Use It - Sameep Shah, Artipot: "Web 2.0 has even stretched to public diplomacy, in a way. The Israeli government's public diplomacy has a blog, MySpace and Facebook pages, as well as video blogs. While this is a small example, expect other governments or diplomacies to start implementing blogs or social networking sites onto their Web sites."

“Judge Rozier, Wake County District Court, Selected to Partic ipate in International Exchange to Jordan Political Study Program to Focus on Citizen Diplomacy” - Press Release, ACYPL, posted by curmilusdancyii at The Political Agitator: "Judge Vince Rozier, Jr. of Wake County District Court has been selected by The American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) as a delegate to Jordan for a 10-day political exchange program beginning April 16, 2009. He will join six other young political leaders from across to the United States to study Jordan’s legal and political system, engage in dialogue on international issues, and forge professional relationships and friendships. 'ACYPL has the unique mission of proving select young lea ders with an opportunity to travel internationally and engage firsthand in public diplomacy,' said ACYPL Chief Executive Officer Linda Rotuno. 'Our delegates have access to key leaders in the nations they visit. They engage in the US and, most importantly, forge professional relationships that can last a lifetime.'” Judge Rozier image from

Failure to join the Law of the Sea Convention harms U.S. interests - Cmdr. James Kraska, Armed Forces Journal: "China … is a party to the Law of the Sea, but denies that foreign warships have the right to enjoy high seas freedom and overflight in the East China Sea. Beijing is patiently but steadily pushing to change standard interpretations of international law, integrating into its maritime strategy elements of 'legal warfare' and an effective public diplomacy campaign to capture world public opinion. By declining to become a member of the treaty, the U.S. has so far ceded the opportunity to influence and shape the constitution for the oceans, yielding the stage to China, North Korea and Iran to popularize their restrictive approach to navigational rights." Via

Kenya has no option but to market itself abroad - Hannington Gaya, Daily Nation: "The formation of the Brand Kenya Board gives the country a great opportunity to establish the attributes of its future brand that will bring more foreign investment and visitors, and turn the country into a heaven for both its citizens and foreigners. Internally, the government intends to use the new brand identity to channel development and boost public morale. … [B]randing is now compulsory, for any nation that expects to remain globally relevant in trade and public diplomacy." Image from

GfK Roper and Anholt Partner to Offer More In-Depth City Brands Index(SM)- Global Study Ranks Image of 50 Key Cities – PR Newswire: “The Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index (CBI) builds on three years of work tracking global attitudes to help governments, organizations and businesses understand, evaluate and ultimately build strong city image and reputation. The 2009 study will have several new features including city-to-city brand dimension comparisons and global temperature maps that visually capture country-by-country positive and negative perceptions of a city. … Simon Anholt … is a member of the UK Government's Public Diplomacy Board, and works as an independent advisor to around 20 other national, regional and city governments on brand strategy and public diplomacy.”

University of Southern California (USC) Annenb[e]rg - United States – jlevy, The Communication Initiative Network: “Master of Public Diplomacy - This degree, offered in partnership with the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences’ School of International Relations, emphasises the role of non-state actors, global public opinion, international news, and international communication in the public diplomacy process. The school intends to develop the next generation of leadership for international public service, business, and non-governmental organisations."

(Not) An Indi Film - Mark Dillen, Public Diplomacy: The World Affairs Blog Network, Foreign Policy Association: "There’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good patriotic cry. Russians and like-minded Ukrainians are lining up these days to see a movie, 'Taras Bulba,' that allows them this public pleasure while undercutting Ukraine’s separate national identity. A real 'twofer' for the movie’s sponsors, the Russian government." Mr. Dillen image from

Soviet propaganda posters - Russiatrek.net:

"There’s a unique style and an engaging beauty to old Soviet propaganda posters. The sinister nature of the messages in many of them almost seems benign in their artful presentation."

When Goering was a pin-up: The German women's magazines that mixed fashion with Fascism - David Wilkes, MailOnline: "Each issue of Frauen Warte (translated as Women Wait) contained articles full of propaganda designed to brainwash readers into accepting Hitler's tyranny. Hermann Goering poses with his daughter Edda for the cover of Frauen Warte in February 1940 just months before as commander of the Luftwaffe he launched the Battle of Britain.