Cause for public diplomacy

Traditional and social media both have to enhance their credibility to play a greater role in improving countries' ties

The global media have increasingly proved their usefulness in public diplomacy in recent years. Many governments have competitively engaged in public diplomacy through the media to make their countries look attractive and friendly to foreigners, and help others to understand their positions in the international arena.

The success or failure of public diplomacy through the media, however, can only be judged by its intended audience. The most critical criterion is the media's credibility, which can be achieved through freedom from editorial bias. Only when such media activities are combined with cultural programs and people-to-people exchanges can their synergic effects be maximized.

However, as seen in cases of some cartoons, photographs and video clips, carelessness and negligence can seriously damage the public diplomacy efforts of major powers. To prevent such incidents, public awareness campaigns should encourage every citizen to be part of public diplomacy activities.

The global media are expected to play a constructive role in the expansion of common ground for promoting peace and harmony among people of neighboring countries through consultations with their counterparts in the region.

The global media have become one of many tools a government employs in conducting its public diplomacy programs. The BBC and Voice of America have demonstrated their powerful influence in the foreign policymaking process, and other major media outlets are following suit.

But the global media are not the be all and end all of public diplomacy. Without being reliable enough, the media cannot expect effective results. While a long period and specific strategy are required to yield results, the issue of "journalistic integrity" needs to be addressed in this process.

Each medium has its own body to make decisions on its operation and management. The Broadcasting Board of Governors in the US is one such example. The board is in charge of devising the strategies, policies and goals of the VOA, Worldnet television broadcasts and its surrogate media outlets, including Radio Free and Radio Sawa. Once a basic guideline is set by a governing body of a certain medium, program contents are required to adhere to it.

But such a situation raises a serious concern about media independence. If the governing body's decision happens to clash with media freedom, which one takes priority? Therefore, the decision-making body should only provide its corresponding media outlet/s with basic guidelines based on ideals such as freedom and democracy. The detailed instructions and regulations should be left to media specialists. By doing so, the media will enjoy solid credibility, which will make the country's government more reliable and credible. From a long-term perspective, this is the goal of public diplomacy.

The global media can play a very constructive role in public diplomacy. Some years ago, China Central Television broadcast an excellent documentary series called Rising of Great Powers. The documentary showed how traditional great powers made historical achievements, and helped the international audience to realize that China was becoming more open-minded and recognizing the same values the West has long been pursuing. This implies that China's public diplomacy is unfolding in a trustworthy manner.

However, careful attention should be paid to the possible negative effects of the global media. Over the last few years, several cartoons have sparked heated public debates for making fun of a certain religion, and controversy surrounded the broadcast and publication of some video clips and photographs depicting the misbehavior of certain countries' military personnel. If distorted images succeed in drawing the attention of the media, they can be distributed via social networking sites at an extremely rapid rate. And once such images are picked up by the traditional media and social networking services, they can nullify the efforts of public diplomacy that their representative governments have been engaged in for years.

This is where the issue of public diplomacy clashes with freedom of expression. Should a media outlet, under the principle of journalistic integrity, have the final say in carrying an embarrassing report? In such cases, checks and balances should be imposed by the media outlet's readers and/or viewers, not the government.

A large number of government and private broadcasters have increased their audiences around the world. These media outlets have the responsibility to serve the common good. Originally, government broadcasts were established to promote national interests, and their reporting was passed through a nationalist filter. But the global media today are expected to promote more noble values that are commonly applicable to all people regardless of their nationalities. These values include peace, human rights and general well-being of the people.

It may not seem difficult for the global media to produce programs that serve the common good but actually it is because the reactions of all readers and viewers cannot be positive given the differences in their cultures, customs, religions, histories and mindsets.

If viewpoints are shifted from a global to a regional perspective, there is a greater likelihood of achieving these goals. Each region, however, has sensitive issues that affect people. This is true for Northeast Asia, where historical issues have damaged relationships among states. And media outlets in the region's countries have not made enough effort to defuse the tensions over these disputes. Instead, they have sometimes highlighted nationalist sentiments, blinding historical facts.

There clearly is some room for the media to play a constructive role in mitigating the resentment plaguing the region for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. They cannot be expected to easily reach a consensus, but they can start with relatively easier issues to slowly build and expand the common ground, and then move to more delicate issues.

Since global media outlets have a relatively small domestic audience compared with a larger international audience, neighboring countries should make efforts to jointly conduct public diplomacy. The global media, with their powerful influence, are the most fitting channel for this joint project. But global media outlets should not ignore the sentiments of the people around the world and instead exercise their influence to promote the common good beyond the borders of nations.

The author is ambassador for public diplomacy, the Republic of Korea.