US halts Arabic magazine meant to boost US image
22 Dec 2005 18:18:37 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Saul Hudson
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The United States has suspended publishing a lifestyle magazine aimed at improving America's image abroad among young Arabs, in a further sign of troubled U.S. public diplomacy efforts.
The State Department, which sponsors the $4.5 million annual publication and distribution throughout the Arab world of the Arabic-language magazine "Hi," said on Thursday it stopped the presses because it was unclear how widely it was read.
The magazine suspension comes after Karen Hughes, the new U.S. goodwill envoy, has struggled to improve America's image in the Middle East.
But the fast-talking, confident Texan, who had no previous experience in foreign diplomacy, found the U.S. image a tough sell as some audiences balked at what they perceived as her cultural insensitivity.
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