The end of Diplomatic License
This afternoon I watched the final episode of a programme that has been a weekly TV appointment of mine since the very first edition was broadcast twelve years ago. CNN International has discontinued Diplomatic License, a lively program focusing on global issues and particularly devoted to events at the United Nations. "CNN has decided to cancel Diplomatic License," programme host Richard Roth told viewers last weekend. "Next week will be our last program. We invite you to send us your comments either way, disappointment or good riddance." In this weekend's final edition, a sad and emotional Richard Roth read a large selection of those emails from around the world that expressed anger and disappointment at the programme removal from the CNN schedule.
UN secretary general Kofi Annan will probably have shared their view. He was the first studio guest on Diplomatic License when he was still the UN director of peacekeeping. On the other side of the coin, the decision should please UN critics inside the US government who have often criticised the way the programme consistently projected the United Nations in a positive light. The sudden announcement by CNN, in fact, may not be totally unrelated to the UN scepticism that has creeped in the US administration in recent times. Only a few months ago, outspoken critic of the UN John R. Bolton was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations taking US-UN relations to one of the lowest points in recent history.
I will miss the weekly programme. Whenever faced by people who insisted that diplomacy was a dull activity, I always referred them to Diplomatic License. Not anymore.
UN secretary general Kofi Annan will probably have shared their view. He was the first studio guest on Diplomatic License when he was still the UN director of peacekeeping. On the other side of the coin, the decision should please UN critics inside the US government who have often criticised the way the programme consistently projected the United Nations in a positive light. The sudden announcement by CNN, in fact, may not be totally unrelated to the UN scepticism that has creeped in the US administration in recent times. Only a few months ago, outspoken critic of the UN John R. Bolton was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations taking US-UN relations to one of the lowest points in recent history.
I will miss the weekly programme. Whenever faced by people who insisted that diplomacy was a dull activity, I always referred them to Diplomatic License. Not anymore.
Wed Mar 01, 07:53:00 PM CETWas rather taken aback when RR made his initial announcement.
Consider though that in the grand scheme of things there are some pretty serious issues that have remained hidden behind the UN status quo.
Perhaps subconscious impulses that drive sectarian violence swim more freely when diplomatic comfort is assured?
To my mind the core problems become even ore embedded when the very structures that sustain them are kept intact.
Better to be a realist first and then an optimist.
Sat Mar 25, 02:34:30 PM CET
I regret that I was never able to actually catch that show, but was most curious about it and thus am sad to hear it is gone.
As an employee of the UN and a former journalist myself, I would be eager to know how accurate a depiction Richard Ross was really allowed to acquire.
In my opinion, the focus of today's journalism is more about ratings and sensationalism than it is about facts and transparency.
That said, diplomacy sometimes is described as a language of "spin"... where you can tell someone to go to hell in such a manner that he will look forward to the trip (to refer to the old adage.)
In both the UN and at CNN, I would like to see more of the guts of what's going on and less fluffy cover-up.
I can dream... :)
But, yes... I agree - better to be a realist first, then an optimist.
[I have to wonder if that was Valette's philosophy as well.]
Sat Mar 25, 02:35:58 PM CET
Richard Roth. (Apologies, on the typo.)
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