Charles Z. Wick was the key figure in the revival of America's public diplomacy during the Reagan years. A close friend of the president, from 1981 to 1989 he directed the United States Information Agency (USIA) which was the home for the American government's international information and broadcasting from 1953 to 1999. Wick spent the first four Reagan years confronting Soviet propaganda head-on: contesting disinformation and retaliating with high-profile initiatives like a satellite television special protesting against the declaration of martial law in Poland, Let Poland Be Poland, which was screened around the world in 1982. The show mixed appeals and performances from such celebrities as Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra and Glenda Jackson with statements by world leaders including Margaret Thatcher. The Polish dissident...
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