U.S. Information Agency

The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established in 1953 “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.”

The USIA was the largest full-service public relations organization in the world, spending over $2 billion per year to highlight the views of the U.S. while diminishing those of the Soviet Union, through about 150 different countries.

The stated goals of the USIA were:

To explain and advocate U.S. policies in terms that are credible and meaningful in foreign culturesTo provide information about the official policies of the United States, and about the people, values and institutions which influence those policiesTo bring the benefits of international engagement to American citizens and institutions by helping them build strong long-term relationships with their counterparts overseasTo 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.

From 1961-64 Edward R. Murrow, a prominent journalist and broadcaster at CBS, was USIA director. Well-known and respected by the American public, Murrow’s short tenure gave legitimacy to the agency.

The USIA was dissolved in 1999.

Main sources: Wikipedia and Scribd

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