Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
PR - Public Diplomacy Division (PDD)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1961-2007
History
A Director of Information Services was first appointed in September of 1950, with the objective of coordinating with the press and developing public opinion in member countries (D-R/20 and D-R/26). Originally, the Information Service did not draft Press Releases, or any other printed materials, but instead coordinated with member nations and press agencies (D-D/186). The communiqués and releases published by NATO starting in 1949 are often created by the committees or divisions themselves. By 1954, the Information Directorate were jointly issuing Press Communiqués with the press services of member nations (AC/52-D/38). In 1957, a Press Section was split from the Information Section in order to manage daily contact with journalists (PO/57/859). Releases were managed by the governments and press services of the member nations with input and information from the Press Section. By the 1960s, releases for ministerial meetings became more common and communiqués were issued for a variety of purposes. By 1994, NATO, SHAPE and AFSOUTH documentation, including communiqués, press releases, speeches and newsletters became available via the “NATO Online” list server (PR/CP(94)24). The following year, a website was developed to host NATO information of public value. Documents would be available both in print and online. In March 2008, a new website was launched and the paper copies of Press Releases were discontinued.
