Dear Readers,

With my assignment to the Austrian Press and Information Service in 2006, I was honored to serve as successor to a number of distinguished Austrian diplomats and journalists.

During the last sixty years, they had contributed significantly to promoting Austria in the U.S. and have not only witnessed historic highlights in Austrian-American relations but also other moments of controversy and political debate. Since the Austrian Information Service was founded in Fall 1948, Public Diplomacy and media relations have been instrumental in developing and improving Austria’s image despite many new challenges. The 60th Anniversary of the Austrian Information Service offers the opportunity to present a retrospective of the last sixty years by those persons who have served as head or as members of the Austrian Information Service.

Yours sincerely,
Wolfgang Renezeder
Editor-in-Chief