Is anybody out there watching? Charlie Wick's latest flop.

• Author: Schapiro, Mark
• Position: US Information Agency

IS ANYBODY OUT THERE WATCHING?

We should have been heroes. U.S. soldiers had just splashed ashore the sunny isle of Grenada and routed the cabal of local communists and visiting Cuban construction workers. But when Charles Wick, director of the United States Information Agency, visited Western Europe during the 1983 invasion, he encountered almost unanimous condemnation from America's allies and the European press. According to one of his USIA subordinates, "Wick came back and said, "God, they're killing us over there! Maggie Thatcher is saying the U.S. should never have gone into Grenada. What can be done?''

Following instincts finely honed during decades as a Hollywood agent and producer, Wick moved quickly. If the critics are taking you to the cleaners, why not make an end run and get your message to the audience directly? There was no time, however, for a full-fledged production number--cobalt blue waves lapping up against pearl white sands, Frank Sinatra in sunglasses and a flower print shirt, a "Let Grenada be Grenada' theme song. So Wick settled for rounding up Jeane Kirkpatrick, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, two Caribbean prime ministers, and a pair of State Department officials for an unprecedented intercontinental video press conference, simultaneously beamed to five European capitals.

In the eyes of White House and USIA officials, Wick's gambit worked; the European reaction quickly faded. Wick sensed that he was onto something. Soon, administration officials were appearing twice a month on a new intercontinental interview service. But why stop there? By the fall of 1984, Wick was seeking advice from top figures in the field of international telecommunications, including Rupert Murdoch, the Australian press magnate. An American diplomat familiar with the situation says Murdoch played a critical role in familiarizing Wick with the possibilities of new satellite technology. It was after meeting Murdoch, says the diplomat, that "Wick saw the potential for thinking big.'

The result was WorldNet, a $15 million-a-year, satellite-aided television network designed to bolster international support for American policy. In launching the project this spring, Wick warned that the Soviet Union was out-spending the United States in international propaganda by a margin of three to one, and was already sending TV broadcasts to Western Europe. WorldNet would help close the Broadcast Gap and counter Soviet disinformation aimed at our...