United States Information Agency
Encyclopedia
The United States Information Agency (USIA), which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States
agency devoted to "public diplomacy
". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors
, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were given to the newly created Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.
Its stated goals were:
Propaganda played a large role in how the United States was viewed by the world during the Cold War
. American propagandists felt as though the Hollywood movie industry was destroying the image of the United States in other countries. In response to the negative portrayal of America from communist propaganda the "USIA exist[ed] as much to provide a view of the world to the United States as it [did] to give the world a view of America." The purpose of the USIA within the United States was to ensure Americans that, "[t]he United States was working for a better world." Abroad, the USIA aimed to preserve a positive image of America regardless of negative depictions from communist propaganda.
In order to accomplish the advisory portion of its mission, the agency conducted research on foreign public opinion about the U.S. and its policies, in order to inform the president and other key policymakers. The agency did this through public opinion surveys throughout the world. It then issued a variety of reports to government officials, including a twice-daily report on foreign media commentary around the world.
Four main divisions existed at the beginning of the USIA's propaganda effort. The first division dealt with broadcasting information both in the United States and around the world. One of the most widely used forms of media at the onset of the Cold War was the radio. The Smith-Mundt Act
authorized information programs including Voice of America
as well as the European-based Radio Free Europe
. Voice of America was intended as an unbiased and balanced "Voice from America" as originally broadcast during World War II. The VOA was used to "tell America's stories...to information deprived listeners behind the Iron Curtain.” By 1967, the VOA was broadcasting in thirty-eight languages to up to 26 million listeners. The Smith-Mundt Act also established a so-called "Charter" which required balanced news, dual sourcing, etc.
The second division of the USIA consisted of libraries and exhibits. The Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 authorized the international cultural and educational exchanges (the Fulbright Scholarship Program
). Thus "Fulbrighters" were grant recipients under the USIA educational and cultural exchange program. To ensure that those grant programs would be fair and unbiased there were a series of grantees of educational and cultural expertise who chose the actual grantee recipients.
The USIA's third division included press services. Within its first two decades the "USIA publishe[d] sixty-six magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals, totaling almost 30 million copies annually, in twenty-eight languages.”
The fourth division dealt with the motion picture service. After the USIA's failing attempts to collaborate with Hollywood filmmakers to portray America in a positive light the Agency began producing their own documentaries.
The agency produced electronic and printed materials, most notably a product known as The Washington File information service, intended to provide, in the words of the agency "both time-sensitive and in-depth information in five languages," incorporation full transcripts of speeches, Congressional testimony, articles by Administration officials, and materials providing analysis of key issues. The Agency has also running a number of web sites to transmit information.
Second, the agency ran a "Speakers and Specialists Program", sending Americans abroad for various public speaking and technical assistance roles. These speakers were refererred to as "American Participants" or "AmParts".
Third, the agency ran over 100 "Information Resource Centers" abroad, including some public-access libraries in developing countries.
Finally, the USIA operated foreign press centers in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles to "assist resident and visiting foreign journalists," while also working in cooperation with other international press centers in other major cities such as Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle.
Additionally, beginning with the 1958 Brussels World Fair, the USIA was responsible for the design, construction, and operation of the U.S. pavilions representing America at major world expos.
At the time of its abolition, its budget was $1.109 billion. After reductions of staff in 1997, the agency had 6,352 employees, of which almost half were civil service employees in the United States (2,521). About 1,800 of these employees worked in international broadcasting, while approximately 1,100 focused on the agency's educational and informational programs, such as the Fulbright program. Foreign service officers were also a significant portion of the work force (about 1,000).
Broadcasting functions, including Voice of America, Radio and TV Marti as well as other U.S. Government supported broadcasting such as Radio Free Europe (in Eastern Europe) and Radio Liberty (in the former Soviet Union) were consolidated as an independent entity under the Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG), which continues independently (as a separate entity from the State Department) today.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
agency devoted to "public diplomacy
Public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. There is no one definition of Public Diplomacy, and may be easier described than easily defined as definitions...
". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors
Broadcasting Board of Governors
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...
, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were given to the newly created Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.
Mission
President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the United States Information Agency in 1953. The USIA's mission was "to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest, and to broaden the dialogue between Americans and U.S. institutions, and their counterparts abroad." In 1948, the Smith–Mundt Act banned domestic distribution of propaganda intended for foreign audiences, but before 1972, the US government was allowed to distribute expressly domestic propaganda through Congress, independent media and schools. The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established "to streamline the U.S. government's overseas information programs, and make them more effective". The United States Information Agency was the largest full-service public relations organization in the world, spending over $2 billion per year to highlight America’s view, while diminishing the Soviet’s side through about 150 different countries.Its stated goals were:
- To explain and advocate U.S. policies in terms that are credible and meaningful in foreign cultures;
- To provide information about the official policies of the United States, and about the people, values and institutions which influence those policies;
- To bring the benefits of international engagement to American citizens and institutions by helping them build strong long-term relationships with their counterparts overseas;
- To advise the President and U.S. government policy-makers on the ways in which foreign attitudes will have a direct bearing on the effectiveness of U.S. policies.
Propaganda played a large role in how the United States was viewed by the world during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. American propagandists felt as though the Hollywood movie industry was destroying the image of the United States in other countries. In response to the negative portrayal of America from communist propaganda the "USIA exist[ed] as much to provide a view of the world to the United States as it [did] to give the world a view of America." The purpose of the USIA within the United States was to ensure Americans that, "[t]he United States was working for a better world." Abroad, the USIA aimed to preserve a positive image of America regardless of negative depictions from communist propaganda.
In order to accomplish the advisory portion of its mission, the agency conducted research on foreign public opinion about the U.S. and its policies, in order to inform the president and other key policymakers. The agency did this through public opinion surveys throughout the world. It then issued a variety of reports to government officials, including a twice-daily report on foreign media commentary around the world.
Media and divisions
From the beginning, Dwight Eisenhower said, “audiences would be more receptive to the American message if they were kept from identifying it as propaganda. Avowedly propagandistic materials from the United States might convince few, but the same viewpoints presented by the seemingly independent voices would be more persuasive.” According to the Kennedy memorandum, the USIA utilized various forms of media including, "personal contact, radio broadcasting, libraries, book publication and distribution, press motion pictures, television, exhibits, English-language instruction, and others.”Through these different forms the United States government was able to distribute and disguise the propaganda more easily and engage a greater concentration of people.Four main divisions existed at the beginning of the USIA's propaganda effort. The first division dealt with broadcasting information both in the United States and around the world. One of the most widely used forms of media at the onset of the Cold War was the radio. The Smith-Mundt Act
Smith-Mundt Act
The US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 , popularly referred to as the Smith–Mundt Act, specifies the terms in which the United States government can engage global audiences, also known as public diplomacy....
authorized information programs including Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
as well as the European-based Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
. Voice of America was intended as an unbiased and balanced "Voice from America" as originally broadcast during World War II. The VOA was used to "tell America's stories...to information deprived listeners behind the Iron Curtain.” By 1967, the VOA was broadcasting in thirty-eight languages to up to 26 million listeners. The Smith-Mundt Act also established a so-called "Charter" which required balanced news, dual sourcing, etc.
The second division of the USIA consisted of libraries and exhibits. The Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 authorized the international cultural and educational exchanges (the Fulbright Scholarship Program
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
). Thus "Fulbrighters" were grant recipients under the USIA educational and cultural exchange program. To ensure that those grant programs would be fair and unbiased there were a series of grantees of educational and cultural expertise who chose the actual grantee recipients.
The USIA's third division included press services. Within its first two decades the "USIA publishe[d] sixty-six magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals, totaling almost 30 million copies annually, in twenty-eight languages.”
The fourth division dealt with the motion picture service. After the USIA's failing attempts to collaborate with Hollywood filmmakers to portray America in a positive light the Agency began producing their own documentaries.
Non-broadcast educational and information efforts
By the time of the agency's reorganization in 1999, the educational and informational efforts encompassed a wide range of activities, outside of broadcasting, focused in four areas:The agency produced electronic and printed materials, most notably a product known as The Washington File information service, intended to provide, in the words of the agency "both time-sensitive and in-depth information in five languages," incorporation full transcripts of speeches, Congressional testimony, articles by Administration officials, and materials providing analysis of key issues. The Agency has also running a number of web sites to transmit information.
Second, the agency ran a "Speakers and Specialists Program", sending Americans abroad for various public speaking and technical assistance roles. These speakers were refererred to as "American Participants" or "AmParts".
Third, the agency ran over 100 "Information Resource Centers" abroad, including some public-access libraries in developing countries.
Finally, the USIA operated foreign press centers in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles to "assist resident and visiting foreign journalists," while also working in cooperation with other international press centers in other major cities such as Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle.
Additionally, beginning with the 1958 Brussels World Fair, the USIA was responsible for the design, construction, and operation of the U.S. pavilions representing America at major world expos.
Abolition and Restructuring
The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, Division G of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, , abolished the U.S. Information Agency effective 1999-10-01, when its information (but not broadcasting) and exchange functions were folded into the Department of State under the newly created Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy.At the time of its abolition, its budget was $1.109 billion. After reductions of staff in 1997, the agency had 6,352 employees, of which almost half were civil service employees in the United States (2,521). About 1,800 of these employees worked in international broadcasting, while approximately 1,100 focused on the agency's educational and informational programs, such as the Fulbright program. Foreign service officers were also a significant portion of the work force (about 1,000).
Broadcasting functions, including Voice of America, Radio and TV Marti as well as other U.S. Government supported broadcasting such as Radio Free Europe (in Eastern Europe) and Radio Liberty (in the former Soviet Union) were consolidated as an independent entity under the Broadcasting Board of Governors
Broadcasting Board of Governors
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...
(BBG), which continues independently (as a separate entity from the State Department) today.
See also
- Public DiplomacyPublic diplomacyIn international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. There is no one definition of Public Diplomacy, and may be easier described than easily defined as definitions...
- U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information ProgramsBureau of International Information ProgramsThe US Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs describes itself as follows:Among other things, IIP operates the website to deliver "information about current U.S. foreign policy and about American life and culture."...
- Committee on Public InformationCommittee on Public InformationThe Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence U.S. public opinion regarding American participation in World War I...
Further reading
- Bardos, Arthur, "'Public Diplomacy': An Old Art, a New Profession", Virginia Quarterly Review, Summer 2001
- Bogart, Leo, Premises For Propaganda: The United States Information Agency's Operating Assumptions in the Cold War, ISBN 0-02-904390-5
- Cull, Nicholas J. "The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989", ISBN 978-0521819978
- Snow, Nancy, Propaganda, Inc.: Selling America's Culture to the World, ISBN 1-888363-74-6
- Kiehl, William P. (ed.) "America's Dialogue with the World", ISBN 0-9764391-1-5
- Sorensen, Thomas C. "Word War: The Story of American Propaganda" (1968) ISBN 3-530-82750-9 ISBN 978-3-530-82750-7
- Tobia, Simona "Advertising America. The United States Information Service in Italy (1945-1956)", LED Edizioni Universitarie, ISBN 978-88-7916-400-9
- United States Information Agency, Commemoration Booklet Public Diplomacy: Looking Forward, Looking Back, Commemorative volume, 1999