ABSTRACT
In 1978 Lesly noted that "virtually all nations now conduct international public relations programs. According to Lobsenz,, the goal of countries whose interests are being represented by PR firms in United States is the improvement of tourism, trade, investment, industrial development, and, above all, image cultivation. German institutions serving image cultivation abroad include the Press and Information Office of the Federal Republic the foreign cultural policy section of the foreign office, the Goethe institutes, the German academic exchange service. It further the Humboldt Foundation, foundations of the political parties, the Carl Duisberg Society, Deutschlandfunk radio, Radio Deutsche Welle, and Trans-Tel sells German television programs. Mass media reporting of foreign affairs often governs what kind of image of a country or a culture predominates. International actions are based on the image of international reality. Although these are not shaped by the news media alone, their ubiquity and perseverance would certainly make them first-rate competitors for the number-one position as international imageformer.
