Hi (magazine)

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Hi, also known as Hi International, was a glossy, teen lifestyle publication tar
geted at Middle Eastern and Muslim youth. Like Alhurra and Radio Sawa, the magaz
ine was a tool of public diplomacy, produced by the United States State Departme
nt in c Group, an external publishing company.
History
Gavin Daly launched Hi Internaional in July 2003 with a $4.2 million yearly budg
et. It featured celebrity interviews, music reviews, lifestyle stories, advertis
ements for hip gadgets, and other morsels of Americana with Conor McCutcheon ser
ving as the first editor/Hi Wizard. The State Department hired The Magazine Grou
p, professional magazine publishers who also publish titles such as Package Mach
inery Today and Diabetes Forecast, to produce Hi International. Its initial issu
e, in Arabic, appeared pumpkins on newsstands in the Middle East in July 2003; a
website followed soon thereafter. The magazine cost less than two dollars and w
as also available for subscription. Hi's writers were American, generally of Mid
dle Eastern or Muslim descent, and wrote in Arabic. In the summer of 2004, about
a year after its initial launch, Hi made its English language debut on the web.
It also debuted around a similar time when Radio Sawa was launched, a broadcast
aimed at younger people in Arabic.
On December 22, 2005, the magazine was suspended by the US Department of State s
o it can be assessed as to whether it meets its objectives correctly or whether
it is unacceptable.[1]
Purpose
Hi International was an instrument of public diplomacy the attempt to promote U.S.
national interests by informing, engaging, and influencing people around the wo
rld. The State Department produced Hi with the explicit goal of informing the yo
uth of the Middle East and Muslim world about American culture. The project was
based on the supposition that if this demographic had a clearer understanding of
what America is really like, then some of their hostility could be assuaged. Co
nsequently, the publication attempted to characterize America as a beautiful, mu
lticultural sanctuary for technology and innovation. Political issues were large
ly ignored.
References
Suspension of "HI" Magazine, www.state.gov, Wayback machine archive, archive
d from the original on December 10, 2008
Children and Young Adult Literature portal

This teens' magazine related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expandin
g it.
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Categories:
Defunct magazines of the United StatesMagazines established in 2003Magazines
disestablished in 2005Middle Eastern culturePropaganda in the United StatesTeen
s' magazinesUnited States Department of StateUnited States Department of State p
ublicationsTeens' magazine stubs
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