Category: World Service
Date: 09.09.2005
Printable version
The BBC's international radio division is holding its biggest ever single-themed season of programmes in September, entitled Who Runs Your World?, exploring different aspects of global power.
A major highlight is a special discussion from Washington DC which explores how people see American power and what impact it has on their lives.
Recorded on Thursday 15 September, the BBC programme Does the US Run The World? unites a studio audience and debate panellists in Washington with audiences across the world.
Phil Harding, Director of English Networks and News, BBC World Service, said: "The United States plays such a dominant role in the world - diplomatically, economically, militarily and culturally - that it is only right that we should examine the extent and limits of that influence in a season about global power.
"So where better to hold a debate on that influence than in Washington - the very seat of America's political power?
"We have brought together a very distinguished panel of political and communication experts to thrash out the issues, together with an invited studio audience - some of whom will get the chance to participate - and ensured the voices of our global audience are heard. This promises to be a lively and thought-provoking event."
Does the US Run the World? looks at why the US commands admiration in some and hatred in others; in the context of America's global war on terror it asks how the US should exercise its power, and what is the most effective tool in its foreign policy - the "hard" power of weapons, or the "soft" power of culture.
To address these questions, presenter of The World Today, Ritula Shah, will lead a panel of distinguished guests:
Jeffrey Baxter, consultant to the Department of Defense, former member of The Doobie Brothers and founding member of Steely Dan.
Dr Joseph Nye, former Dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.
Keith Reinhard, chairman of DDB Worldwide and President of Business for Diplomatic Action.
Dr Nancy Snow, College of Communications, Cal State Fullerton; Senior Fellow, USC Center on Public Diplomacy; Former USIA/State Department official; and author of Propaganda, Inc.: Selling America's Culture to the World, and Information War.
The event will be held at 3.30pm in the O'Byrne Gallery at Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Memorial Continental Hall, Washington DC.
The event will be recorded for broadcast on Monday 19 September on the BBC's partner radio station in Washington DC, WETA 90.9 FM, and will be available via bbcnews.com/yourworld.
To set up an interview with Phil Harding or Ritula Shah, contact World Service publicity.
To reserve a seat, call WETA on 703-998-2692 or go online at weta.org/bbcevent.
Notes to Editors
BBC World Service is an international radio and online broadcaster delivering programmes and services in 43 languages.
It uses multiple platforms to reach 149 million listeners globally, including SW, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels.
It has more than 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones.
Its international online sites include audio and visual content and offer users opportunities to interact directly with world events. They receive over 330 million page impressions a month.
WETA 90.9 FM is a public radio station serving the US capital with international news reports and public affairs programming. Dedicated to local and global topics, 90.9 FM provides live coverage from NPR and the BBC and cultural features on the Washington area.
The station broadcasts radio programming 24 hours each day on WETA 90.9 FM in Arlington, Virginia; WETH 89.1 FM in Hagerstown, Maryland; and WETA 88.9 FM in Frederick, Maryland.
For more information on WETA and its services, visit weta.org. Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO of WETA.
