Andy Pryce

A feeling of resolve and optimism

And so they came. From farms, villages, towns and cities across the United States to their capital.  I met pilgrims from the coast of California, the plains of the mid-west and the shores of New England.  They came to Washington to say that they were there.  We were there too.  On the mall. On this great day.  Two people amongst the 2 million listening intently to the new President's words for the world.   The day was cold but hearts were warmed.

There has been a celebratory atmosphere in Washington over the past week. Yet there was a solemn dignity around Tuesday's happy crowds. As President Obama said wherever we look there is work to be done. The atmosphere on the Mall seemed to reflect the measured tone of the President's speech.  I know that the UK Government will work tirelessly and ever more closely with President Obama's Administration and Congress to ensure that we meet the challenges of our time. The challenges are great but the sense of purpose and possibility evoked today is greater still. I feel confident that increased public and private diplomacy, political will and the will of our peoples will, in time, solve our economic challenges, the threat from climate change and conflict whether in the Middle East or the hills and plains of Afghanistan.

My 14 year old nephew from Chicago asked my wife and I where he could volunteer on Martin Luther King Day (the then President-Elect had called for people to volunteer). There is a sense of an ever growing challenge, resolve and, perhaps as result, optimism amongst the American people. 

We left the cold Mall after the speech and walked back to Virginia over a eerily car free highway bridge.

Posted at 10:53 22 January 2009 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[1]

Credibility and the World Service

The BBC world service attracts a weekly global audience of 233 million people. Thirteen million unique users visit its website every week. Its budget is about $470 million a year.

The World Service has garnered a global reputation as THE source of news. From Mandela on Robben Island to the 16 million who listen to its Arabic service today, the world's public have heard unbiased news from impeccable sources. Credibility is the one of the key reasons for the World Service's reputation remaining impeccable.

The British Government does not commission stories or sway the BBC's line. Governments of different political stripes have, from time to time, found themselves on the wrong side of the World Service's independent reporting. This independence and reporting of the facts has ensured continued credibility for the organisation. Public Affairs Officers or Diplomats like myself can no more tell the World Service what to report than we could tell Al Jazeera to spike a story on civilian casualties. The Arab "street" or Soweto slums have become more and more media savvy. It would be a waste of money for the UK to pay for and serve up lukewarm propaganda.  
 
It is always interesting to compare and contrast how different governments go about their business. The UK devotes significant resource to both the BBC World Service (which is managerially and editorially independent) and British Council (which is operationally independent from government).

There is a wide ranging debate underway in Washington on how the US Government should go about influencing overseas. There seems to be a wide range of suggested approaches. Some in Congress had expressed concern about the reporting of Voice of America. Some seem to want more independent public diplomacy initiatives, others do not. The Department of Defence recently signed a $300 million a year contract for the production of supportive media in Iraq. What do readers think that the UK and US can learn from each other approach and ideas?

Posted at 16:10 14 October 2008 by Andy Pryce  |  Comments[6]