Driving to the office today, the words printed on the T-shirt of a motorcyclist in front of me caught my attention -- "Change The World".
Instantaneously, the question "How?" popped up in my mind.
Yes, how can he or me or we change the world.
I related about this later in the afternoon at the start of my talk on "The Role of the Media in Public Diplomacy" at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations.
Public diplomacy has been widely seen as the transparent means by which a country communicates with publics in other countries aimed at informing and influencing audiences overseas to promote its national interest and advancing its foreign policy goals. The task is primarily handled by the Foreign Ministry.
At its best, journalism or the media can build bridges to change the world by promoting understanding between nations.
Journalists can no longer afford to just tell who, what, when and how as these essential fact-gathering tasks are increasingly redistributed among a growing number of online users who represent new voices that are being heard loud and wide.
Today journalists are the moderators of global conversation in which they provide context, nuance, commentary and enhanced understanding of events.
