The Jeremiad Over Journalism

Kryhl Jensen, 2009
Building partially on Villaume‘s work from 1995, Martin Kryhl Jensen in his article ―A War on
Values,‖ analyzes the American cultural diplomatic approach to Denmark between 1945 and 1960.
Focusing on the means and ends towards influence on Danish society, Kryhl Jensen describes the
inception of the United States Information Agency and shows that prominent Danish journalists
were closely linked to American Embassy officials in the years immidiately after World War II.
Based on Danish and American archival material, Kryhl Jensen also depicts how American officials
directly tried to influence Danish journalists through their personal relationships and by inviting
Danish editors to The White House for a meeting with President Harry Truman. 136 According to
Kryhl Jensen, Danish journalists were seen by the Americans as an effient way to reach larger
society.
―[The Americans] thus focused on reaching as wide a segment of the Danish population as
possible by nurturing their connections with the people who already were or were expected to
be leading in Danish society.‖ 137
Moreover, the author shows that educational exchange, for instance the ―Leader Grant‖ under the
Fulbright Program, was central to the American strategy. Several journalists went on exchange to
the United States and the centrality of the media is also underlined by the fact three of the American
Embassy‘s seven sections, ―Motion Pictures,‖ ―Press and Publications,‖ and ―Broadcasting‖ were
related to Danish journalists and communicators. 138
Kryhl Jensen‘s description of the duties carried out by the seven different USIE-sections, i.e.
inviting Danish journalists to the United States or prompting publication of anti-Soviet articles,
136 Martin Kryhl Jensen, "En Krig På Værdier - Mål Og Midler I Det Amerikanske Kulturdiplomati [A War on Values:
Means and Ends in the American Cultural Diplomacy]," in Fodnoter, ed. Bent Jensen (Copenhagen: Center for
Koldkrigsforskning, 2009). Page 9. According to Kryhl Jensen, the American head of USIE, Roy V. Peel, wrote to Ebbe
Munck on August 25, 1945 seeking a correction notice of what he believed to be a misleading article about the United
States in Information.
137 Ibid. Page 11.
138 Ibid. Page 17-28. Influencing Danish teachers is, however, also shown to be a distinct priority by the Americans.
According to Kryhl Jensen, the seven USIE-sections at the American Embassy were ―Library and Institute,‖ ―Exchange
of Persons,‖ ―Motion Pictures,‖ ―Press and Publications,‖ ―Broadcasting,‖ ―Special Events,‖ ―Other Governments:
Informational and Cultural Activities.‖
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