The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2017 11 Hutson is no longer a part of our Service, but I expect a higher standard from AFSA. Lively discourse and self-criticism are certainly welcome, but please do not allow the FSJ to be a platform for deri- sion and outdated gender stereotypes. Laura Malenas FSO Washington, D.C. Let’s Talk about Modern Public Diplomacy I retired as a Senior Foreign Service information officer with the U.S. Infor- mation Agency at the end of 1988. I was educated as a journalist and earned a master’s degree in international relations before joining the Foreign Service in 1963. I was pleased to see the Speaking Out in the May Journal, “Digital Diplomacy: Will State Ever Take the Plunge?” I congratulate Amelia Shaw on her sensitive and thoughtful observations and conclusions. There is no doubt that, to be effective, the tools of modern-day public diplomacy must involve the so-called social media. Digital and/or electronic media would be a more accurate term. We did not have those tools when I was in the Service, but I see how effec- tive they can be. I would hope, as Ms. Shaw suggests, that State will find a way to make the public diplomacy func- tion more effective through the use of modern methods. Our diplomats, in particular those serving abroad, deserve all the help they can and should get. Though the atmosphere at the moment is likely not conducive, I also believe that it would be better for PD to be, once again, made independent from the State bureaucracy. In any case, it should have a director who is knowl- edgeable, if not currently involved with digital media, and personally aware of the complicated nature of communicat- ing with foreign audiences. Again, I applaud the inspiration Ms. Shaw has provided with her article. I hope that it is just a beginning. Jon W. Stewart USIA FSO, retired Bothell, Washington Practicing Public Diplomacy Amelia Shaw makes some good points about embassies’ social media participation in her May Speaking Out. Too many practitioners are “using Facebook as a signboard on which to cut and paste media content created in Washington.” At FSI, we teach embassy staffers to do better in our information tradecraft and other courses, as well as inmultiple courses specifically on social media. Every year, hundreds of FSOs and Locally Employed staffmembers learn social media strategies, techniques and analytics. As I work with PD professionals in strategic planning workshops and learn of their products and methods, I think that most of them do take engagement seriously. We talk a lot about capturing audience reaction to the full spectrum of programs to evaluate results. When Ms. Shaw gets into her first public diplomacy assignment in Vien- tiane, her production and marketing skills will doubtless improve the Public Affairs Section’s performance. However, she will also learn that posts, tweets and videos are tools, not the end product of a PAS. Diplomacy is a different business from journalism. n Joe B. Johnson FSO, retired Instructor, Public Diplomacy Division, FSI Arlington, Virginia