U.S. Overseas Image Gets New Focus

[rodeodance]

I fear what people around the world really see only the war and other agressions we do.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901928.html

U.S. Overseas Image Gets New Focus
State Dept. to Honor Groups That Promote Understanding

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 10, 2007; Page A04

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce today the creation of a new annual award to honor a company, academic institution or other nongovernmental entity that does the most to promote the U.S. image abroad through intercultural understanding, State Department officials said.

The Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy is designed to prod corporations and other nongovernmental groups to play a bigger role in public diplomacy at a time when the image of the U.S. government has been battered by a backlash, especially in the Arab world, from the invasion of Iraq.

...............

Powell, along with Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes, has worked with private entities on a number of initiatives in the past year, including bringing journalists from 100 countries to learn U.S. journalistic practices, creating an international women's mentoring program in partnership with Fortune magazine and sending 12 university presidents to Asia to promote educational opportunities in the United States............

[ninkasi]

1. I share your fears

It's all well and good to encourage U.S. organizations to try to present positive images of our country overseas, but that won't negate the image of us being the world's biggest bully. NGOs can be the best in the world, but people know the difference between individual citizens, and their country. It's the U.S. government, more specifically the Bush administration, that people have a problem with.

Typically of this administration, they wait until they've screwed things up beyond repair, then try to dump the whole mess into somebody, anybody, else's lap. Besides, wasn't Karen Hughes supposed to be doing this job?

[NJCher]

2. Oh yeah, right

A PR program is going to fix the hideous, morally bankrupt deeds of the American government.

Isn't that just like these assholes? They think everything can be fixed with marketing and PR.



Cher

[Mythsaje]

3. Until this last election

it really looked like their marketing campaign WAS taking care of the problem.