MURROW'S COLD WAR

Edward R. Murrow, America's most prominent journalist, in March 1961 ended a quarter century career with the Columbia Broadcasting System to join the administration of John F, Kennedy as Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Charged with promoting a positive image abroad, the agency sponsored overseas research programmes, produced documentaries, and operated the Voice of America to spread the country's influence throughout the world. As Director, Murrow hired African Americans for top spots in the agency, and leveraged his celebrity status at home to challenge all Americans to correct the scourge of domestic racism that discouraged developing countries, viewed as strategic assets, from aligning with the West. Using both overt and covert propaganda programmes, he forged a positive public image for Kennedy's administration policies in an unsettled era that included the rise of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and support for Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem. This magnificent historical work tackles an understudied portion of Murrow's life and exposes the importance of public diplomacy in the advancement of US foreign policy. It is an invaluable look back on the virtues and a few vices of the approach taken 50 years ago by the legendary broadcast journalist in the service of a remarkable administration. The book is both fun and informative, 353pp, 12 illus, chapters include 1776 Pennsylvania Avenue, From Fiasco to Progress in Latin America and Birmingham, The Story Heard Round the World.