The Guardian website is leading this morning with a story about possible cuts to the services of the BBC World Service including broadcasts to Burma and Russia.
Some context. The government is going to be implementing major cuts in public expenditure over the next few years. The shape of these cuts will be announced on 20 October. The result is that every organization that gets government funding is looking at the implications of cuts. A lot of these bodies are going public with warnings about the implications of cuts. There are lots of stories in the media. I would read The Guardian report as part of the usual pre-spending round bargaining. I there will be cuts in public diplomacy spending but they may not be where they are being reported now.
Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence 