On Sat, 14 Mar 1992 11:11:25 EST Cal said:

 

>It's easy to blame the CIA for everything (one never loses betting with the

>probabilities) but I never heard that the USIA was anything more than what

>it claims to be: The United States Information Agency.  They are the overseas

>(from us) agency responsible for dissemination of material relating to United

>States policy.

 

The truth in advertising about USIA's mission is analyzed an article in the

most recent issue of CovertAction Information Bulletin, Number 39 (Winter

1991-1992).  The article is titled "USIA: Propaganda as Public Diplomacy"

by Robin Anderson who is listed as being a media critic living in New York

City.

 

The article's sole reference to the CIA is its inclusion as one of the

agencies involved in the "internal proganda apparatus" of USIA; related

to that mission, Anderson states that "a veteran CIA overseas propaganda

specialist [Walter Raymond]" headed the USIA's domestic strategy sessions,

I believe during the Reagan era.

 

The article deals mostly with the Carter and Reagan years (with the latter

having USIA more involved in disseminating particular angles on subjects).

Also talks about the blacklist that USIA maintained of Americans who un-

acceptable to represent the US including Cronkite, Coretta Scott King,

ABC's David Brinkley, the Washington Post's Ben Bradlee, and New Yrok

Times columnist Tom Wicker.

 

There are (were?) USIA regulations that USIA used to deny tax-exempt

status and thereby certification for duty-free export status to U.S.

films IT deemed propaganda.  Until it was blocked by a federal appeals

court in 1988, the USIA had denied certification to anti-nuclear pwr

films (while certifying pro-nuclear films), a film depicting US urban

drug problems, a film about the dangers of uraniam mining, and another

film which the agency felt left the impression that the U.S. had

been the aggressor in the war against Nicaragua.

 

the article has citations (unlike many so much that is offered as news)

so you can fact check.

 

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 º=======º  º  "In a nut house the nominal is taken for the real,

 º       º  º  assertions by the powerful are taken as true, and

 º=======º  º  the cynical manipulator thrives."

            º      from the Doublespeak column in Z magazine 12/91

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 Angela E. Taylor    BITNET:    EL406013@Brownvm

                     INTERNET:  [log in to unmask]

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