18 pages, Digital agriculture has been developing rapidly over the past decade. However, studies have shown that the need for more ability to use these tools and the shortage of knowledge contribute to current farmer unease about digital technology. In response, this study investigated the influence of communication channels—mass media, social media, and interpersonal meetings—on farmers’ adoption, decision-making, and benefits obtained using technologies. The research uses data from 461 farmers in Brazil and 340 farmers in the United States, leaders in soybean production worldwide. The results show differences and similarities between these countries. LinkedIn has the highest positive association in Brazil between the communication channels and the digital agriculture technologies analyzed. In the United States, YouTube has the highest positive correlation. The overall influence of social media among Brazilian farmers is higher than among American farmers. The perceived benefits of using digital tools are more strongly associated with mass media communication in the United States than in Brazil. Regarding farm management decision-making, the study showed a higher relevance of interpersonal meetings in Brazil than in the United States. Findings can aid farmers, managers, academics and government decision makers to use communication channels more effectively in evaluating and adopting digital technologies.
21 pages, Women empowerment and gender equality have been found to be statistically significant and positive predictors of global agricultural development. Therefore, reducing gender disparities can encourage economic progress and growth in developing nations. As such, determining effective ways to stimulate social progress and women’s empowerment has emerged as a critical need. One strategy used to raise the public’s consciousness about gendered issues in Thailand has been through mass media. In response, this study aimed to (1) determine to what extent Thailand’s newspaper coverage focused on topics related to women and the agricultural industry; and (2) describe how women in agriculture have been portrayed in newspaper coverage since the introduction of Thailand 4.0’s policy in 2016. Using a qualitative content analysis of Thailand’s newspaper coverage of women in the agricultural sector, four themes emerged: (1) economic policy implications for Thailand’s agricultural system; (2) human rights; (3) women entrepreneurship and leadership; and (4) agricultural development. Therefore, this study concluded that newspaper coverage of women in agriculture was diverse and conflicting – a finding not previously reported. The findings also revealed that women in agriculture have been underrepresented in newspaper publications historically. Moving forward, we provided critical implications for how future research, theory, and practice can depict women in agriculture more positively in the newspaper media.
23 pages, As the media have continued to pay increasing attention to pig epidemic events, some local pig epidemic events may have a large degree of negative impact on the pork market and the whole pig industry chain, leading to pork price fluctuations. Strengthening pig epidemic control, monitoring media reporting sentiment, and stabilizing pork price fluctuations are important measures to improve the economy and people’s livelihood. This paper sets out to identify the relationship between the negative media sentiment about the pig epidemic and the market risk of pork prices within a setting with pig epidemic risk. Based on the provincial panel data of China from January 2011 to December 2022, this paper uses the spatial panel Durbin model to investigate the impact of negative media sentiment about the pig epidemic on pork price fluctuations from the perspective of local and spillover effects, and further discusses the mechanism of consumer sentiment. The empirical results show that: (1) The negative media sentiment about the pig epidemic significantly exacerbates pork price fluctuations, and there is a single threshold effect, which is weakened after crossing the threshold value. (2) The negative media sentiment about the pig epidemic has a significant positive spillover effect on pork price fluctuations, showing the characteristics of “being a neighbor”. The spatial spillover effect shows a significant spatial attenuation feature and an inverted U-shaped change with the inflection point at 1400 km. (3) The effect is related to the heterogeneity of media reputation. The local aggravation effect of local media’s negative sentiment on pork price fluctuations is greater than that of central media and information network platforms. In terms of the spatial spillover effect, the negative sentiment of the information network platforms has the strongest effect on the aggravation of pork price fluctuations in neighboring regions. (4) The mechanism study finds that the negative media sentiment about the pig epidemic positively affects pork price fluctuations through the path of “consumer sentiment”. Therefore, this research recommends that the government department should strengthen the supervision of media sentiment about the pig epidemic and reasonably guide consumer sentiment to stabilize the pork market.
16 pages, Plagued by recent and historic drought, the need for water storage and management solutions in California is apparent. As a potential solution, the Sites Reservoir project offers an opportunity to a state eager to conserve and better manage water. The Sites Reservoir project involves complexities from a variety of standpoints and stakeholder perspectives. This study investigated the frames and sources used by The Sacramento Bee to communicate about the Sites Reservoir project over a 10-year period. The most frequently used frames throughout the dataset were “policy and government” and “water conscious,” and the sources most frequently utilized for information about the project in the articles were elected officials, government agency representatives, and nonprofit representatives. The findings suggest water management is linked with political activities and supports the assertion that the media tend to focus on the role of policy and political opinion in water management issues. At the same time, the findings suggest the need for water solutions is evident, given the prominence of the “water conscious” frame. Future studies should evaluate frames over time, and investigate the potential nuance between frames used to communicate about water management in different areas of the United States facing water management issues.
20 pages, Knowledge of agricultural practices has declined in recent years, resulting in consumers becoming uncertain of where and how their food has been produced and the marketing tactics used to promote the product. Historically, the U.S. population’s rich agricultural heritage coincided with higher levels of agricultural literacy. Some scholars, however, have maintained that U.S. culture has begun to lose touch with its agricultural foundations. More recent evidence has demonstrated that consumers acquire knowledge about their food from various media, most notably the Internet and social media. Often these sources use incorrect information and promote food and agricultural marketing trends that may not be grounded in scientific data. In response, this historical narrative analyzed a reform effort that occurred in U.S. food labeling policy and practice in the 1900s, which contributed to food labeling issues and consumer distrust in the agricultural industry. Based on the findings of this investigation, we concluded that food labels were initially intended to provide consumers with more profound knowledge of the food they purchased. However, key legislative acts such as the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act shifted the food labeling movement into a branding device to differentiate products and brands. We recommend that agricultural practitioners explore new ways to communicate their message more effectively. We also call for producers to incorporate more personal and emotional appeals when marketing agricultural products to better compete with third-party branding efforts.
19 pages, Previous scholarship suggests that elite media have tended to pay little attention to the adverse environmental impacts associated with meat consumption and production. Through content analysis of 116 articles from 2019, published on eight popular online news sites consumed by a wide range of demographics in the UK, including lower-income groups (the sector most likely to eat meat), we identify common anti-meat and pro-meat environmental narratives, solutions and recommendations, and the dominant sentiment towards both meat consumption and production. We observed a significantly greater presence of anti-meat consumption and/or production narratives than pro-meat. Over half the articles showed anti-meat consumption sentiment, with only 5% predominately in favour. 10% were against unspecified or industrial production practices, 28% were against industrial-scale farming but supported sustainable methods; and none were entirely in favour of the meat industry. These findings are reflected in the dominant recommendation, present in over 60% of articles, to eat less meat. Our results add substantially to previous media research, particularly showing the increased volume of coverage of the meat-environment nexus, varying levels of contestation around meat eating, and the division of responsibility between consumers and industry.
12 pages, Background
Health risk communication plays a key role in promoting self-protective measures, which are critical in suppressing COVID-19 contagion. Relatively little is known about the communication channels used by rural poor populations to learn novel measures and their effectiveness in promoting self-protective behaviors. Behavioral change can be shaped by people’s trust in government institutions which may be differentiated by social identity, including indigeneity.
Methods
During an early phase of the pandemic, we conducted two telephone surveys with over 460 communities – both Indigenous and mestizo – without road access and limited communication access in the Peruvian Amazon. This is the first report on the association of information sources about self-protective measures against COVID-19 with the adoption of self-protective behaviors in remote rural areas in developing countries.
Results
People mainly relied on mass media (radio, television, newspapers) and interpersonal sources (local authorities, health workers, neighbors/relatives) for information and adopted handwashing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and social restrictions to varying degrees. Overall, self-protective behaviors were largely positively and negatively associated with mass media and interpersonal sources, respectively, depending on the source-measure combination. Mistrust of the government seems to have shaped how Indigenous and mestizo peoples distinctively responded to interpersonal information sources and relied on mass media.
Conclusions
Our findings call for improved media access to better manage pandemics in rural areas, especially among remote Indigenous communities.
17 pages, This article draws upon research exploring a project that combines edutainment and participatory communication strategies as an approach to social change in Malawi. Throughout the research, I take a critical stance that seeks to uplift voices of an audience attending a radio listening club (RLC) and therefore utilize participatory methods to co-create the body of knowledge with study participants. In this article, I query RLC audience’s thoughts of the project’s relevance and influence in their daily lives. Oriented by Hall’s concepts of encoding and decoding, I analyse my data focusing on the dynamics between the objectives of the producers and the lived reality of the participants. Findings reveal that audience’s motivation for continued attendance of the RLC is different to that intended in the encoding process; rather audiences negotiate the relevance of messages to their own needs, those of their children and utilize the space to extend their social capital.
5 pages, Information plays important role in agriculture development. This study investigated the nature
and extent of available agricultural information sources and information seeking patterns of farmers in Punjab Pakistan. To conduct this study, survey method was used and the population of
the study was the farmers of Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan. The sample of 60 farmers
was selected during the year 2020 by using convenient sampling technique. Furthermore, these farmers were selected from Attock, Kasur and Bahawalnagar to ensure the representation from northern, central, and southern parts of the province of Punjab. The responses of the framers were collected in the form of questionnaire and researcher used adopted descriptive statistics. Results revealed that majority 41 percent of farmers seek information to enhance
their agricultural knowledge. It was found that comparatively interpersonal channels were mostly
preferred with the 56 percent whereas mass media occupied second position with 42 percent. It was also found that numerous types of information sources such as interpersonal sources, mass media and new media were available to disseminate information related to farmers’ needs. It was also revealed that among information needs, market and weather forecast trends were on top priority ranked 1st and 2nd respectively.
13pgs, With a focus on journalistic discourse, this paper argues for a re-envisioning of food-system communication that takes non-human animals into account as stakeholders in systems that commodify them. This is especially urgent in light of the global pandemic, which has laid bare the vulnerability to crisis inherent in animal-based food production. As a case study to illustrate the need for a just and non-human inclusive orientation to food-systems communication, the paper performs a qualitative rhetorical examination, of a series of articles in major U.S. news sources in May of 2020, a few months into the economic shutdown in the U.S. in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, millions of pigs were brutally killed on U.S. farms due to the impossibility of killing them in slaughterhouses overrun with COVID-19 outbreaks. The analysis finds that media reporting legitimated violence against pigs by framing narratives from industry perspectives, deflecting agency for violence away from farmers, presenting pigs as willing victims, masking violence through euphemism, objectifying pigs and ignoring their sentience, and uncritically propagating industry rhetoric about “humane” farming. Through these representations, it is argued, the media failed in their responsibility to present the viewpoints of all sentient beings affected by the crisis; in other words, all stakeholders. The methodology merges a textually- oriented approach to critical discourse analysis (CDA) with social critique informed by critical animal studies (CAS), and the essay concludes with recommendations for journalists and other food-system communicators, which should be possible to implement even given the current capitalist, industry-influenced media environment and the demonstrated ruthlessness of animal industries in silencing voices inimical to their profitmaking.
28 pages, Large broiler chicken companies have been under pressure by consumers to reduce their carbon footprint, improve animal welfare and labor practices, and enhance environmental quality across the industry. This study examines how large broiler chicken companies have addressed sustainability within video content directed toward consumers and posted on YouTube. To conceptualize this study, we used the 1990 Farm Bill definition of agricultural sustainability. It is important to examine articulations of agricultural sustainability as company messages often incorporate sustainability philosophies and ideologies while referencing specific production practices and goals. This study used qualitative content analysis to analyze 440 videos, and framing analysis to closely examine a subset of 55 videos, from three of the largest broiler chicken companies in the United States. The framing analysis revealed that stewardship, natural state, and catalyst for change were the three most frequently used sustainability frames across the companies. These frames focus on elements of caretaking, responsibility, and public accountability, and apply these ideals to people, chickens, and profit within the organization. Few discussions of environmental stewardship were found within our analysis. While frames were not necessarily connected to production practices, each company did tend to leverage frames in ways that align with brand positioning. Companies should consider implementing discussions of how production practices affect the environment more directly, since protecting the environment and replenishing natural resources are concepts consumers associate with sustainability.
20 pages., Mass media is the main source of scientific information for most Americans, but inaccuracy of reporting has threatened the public’s understanding of science. Perceived media bias and fake news has also made the public skeptical of the media, and scientists’ perceptions are no different. Because scientists are the most trusted source for scientific information in America, it is important they remain willing to work with the media. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore scientists’ perceptions of working with reporters, including their attitude, subjective norms, behavioral control, and intent to engage with the media in the future. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 tenure-track faculty at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) in spring 2018. These participants represented low, moderate, and high communicators. The findings from this study indicated mostly negative attitudes toward reporters due to skepticism in their ability to accurately report science. Behavioral control was also limited due to time and ability constraints, but participants recommended trainings as ways to increase behavioral control. Subjective norms were somewhat mixed, with some positive norms from mentors but perceived negative norms from the public. Despite negative attitudes toward reporters, intent to engage with the media was mixed. However, subjective norms and behavioral control were often discussed as reasons to not engage with reporters. The findings from this study offered recommendations for both practice and research to help foster positive relationships between scientists and reporters.
21 pages, Online journal, Wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas in the late 2010s caused seven deaths and catastrophic damage to millions of acres of ranch and farmland. Because of the rural location of these disasters, agricultural communicators were releasing information to media, internal stakeholders, social media, and other agricultural audiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the communications efforts made and subsequent lessons learned from agricultural communicators during the fires. Through a qualitative case study, researchers interviewed 14 agricultural communicators about their experiences in disseminating information about the fires. Most of the findings align with pre-existing literature; however the researchers found that communicators should be prepared to develop a system to communicate about and accept donations, develop a network of organizations that can be supportive in a crisis situation, and let people be the subject of the messaging. The data also indicate that an undergraduate course in crisis communications would be beneficial.
6 pages, Pakistan is an agricultural country and has 80% percent contribution in export earnings and
50% labour forces engagement. The aim of this study was to know about government media campaigns for awareness and information in the agricultural development. The study was conducted at Department of Mass Communication Govt. College University, Faisalabad, during 2019. Data was gathered from government agriculture department website from June 2017 to June 2019 to know about the governmental contribution in agricultural development through media campaigns and nature of these campaigns to aware and educate the farmers. The study found that the mode of government media campaigns was related to transmit message to farmers
about warning and preventive (20-26%), inofmraiton and awareness (38-54%), visit and meeting
(6-10%), subsidies and credit assistant (6-16%) and policies and new technology (6-8%). The
study also revealed that government had specially focused on new technology for better results
to aware and educate the farmers to improve their cultivation. But it is also revealed that there
is more space to improve the cultivation style and government should play a greater role in the
development of agriculture sector.
13 pages, Agricultural fairs provide one of the last frontiers, and largest stages, for showcasing livestock agriculture to the public. However, public funding, attendance revenue, animal biosecurity, and public health concerns are all aspects worthy of conversation and increased research attention given the interaction between livestock animals and the general public in fair and festival settings. A prominent social media listening and data analytics platform was used to quantify online and social media chatter concerning agricultural fairs during a 27-mo period. A general search for online media referencing agricultural fair keywords was designed; social and online media mentions of agricultural fairs (n = 2,091,350 mentions) were further queried according to their reference to livestock, fair food, or the major agricultural product producing species of dairy and beef cattle (n = 68,900), poultry (n = 39,600), and swine (n = 31,250). Numbers of search results were found to be seasonal and Twitter was the single largest domain for all fair-related results; in contrast, the majority of livestock-related media was generated by news sources rather than from Twitter. On a weekly basis, the percentage of fair livestock mentions with species-specific reference was highly variable ranging from 0% to 86.8% for cattle, 0% to 85.7% for poultry, and 0% to 76.9% for swine. In addition to quantifying total search hits or mentions, the positivity/negativity of the search results was analyzed using natural language processing capabilities. The net sentiment quantified is the total percentage of positive posts minus the percentage of negative posts, which results in a necessarily bounded net sentiment between −100% and +100%. Overall net sentiment associated with mentions of agricultural fairs was positive; the topics garnering the highest positive sentiments were fair food and cattle (both 98% positive). Online discussion pertaining to agricultural fairs and swine was overall positive despite references to swine flu outbreaks. In conclusion, livestock and animal products had positive net sentiment over the time period studied, but there are multiple aspects of agricultural fairs worthy of further investigation and continued vigilance, including zoonotic disease risk and public perceptions of livestock industries.
25 pages, via online Journal, The spread of non-prescription opioid abuse has increased to the point that a person is now more likely to die from an accidental overdose than an automobile accident. Rural areas have been hit particularly hard, and many farmers indicate direct impacts resulting from the opioid epidemic. Researchers have recognized the role of the media in communicating complicated issues and influencing potential solutions. This study analyzed the frames and sources used to communicate issues regarding the rural opioid epidemic in The New York Times and five additional newspapers from states most affected by the opioid epidemic. A total of 115 news, feature, editorial, and other articles were analyzed. The most often used frame was “growth or spread” of the epidemic and the sources most frequently referenced were medical professionals and elected officials. Although a non-traditional issue in agriculture, agricultural communicators should not shy away from getting involved given the potential for harm to rural communities and, in turn, the agriculture industry. Future studies should investigate rural community member and journalist perceptions on the issue, as well as coverage in other states.
12 pages., via online journal, Local food systems are an emerging way for communities to build vibrant economies, improve health outcomes, and limit their environmental impact. Studies have shown local food engagement differs significantly between generations; however, what remains unclear is how generations’ perceptions and engagement compare to each other so the agricultural community can most effectively communicate about local food systems. Leveraging audience segmentation theory from social marketing, this study sought to address how the five living generations in the United States – Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and The Silent Generation – perceived and engaged with local food systems. To address this question, a non-probability opt-in sampling of 863 adults in the state of Georgia was used. Each participant was asked four questions pertaining to different aspects of local food systems – the purchase of local foods from grocery stores, use of local food markets, participation in local food events, and level of engagement with local food related media. Millennials and Generation X’ers expressed significantly higher levels of engagement with local food systems when compared to Baby Boomers and The Silent Generation, this was not observed between Generation Z and any other group. While Millennials and X’ers engaged at higher levels, significant opportunities remain for engagement through generation-specific media to turn the universal tepid interest in local food systems into action. Future research should seek to identify the relationship between generational media preferences and how effective they are at transforming interest in local food systems into action.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 157 Document Number: D11631
Notes:
2 pages., Online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 2 pages., Revised name and mission of what was formerly the Agricultural Publishers Association (APA) and Connectiv Agri Media Committee.
International: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 166 Document Number: D11692
Notes:
2 pages., Online from organization website., In an online event, United Nations leaders and others emphasize importance of free, independent, fact-based journalism at the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2020."I takes journalism to communicate the findings of scientists and disseminate real and reliable information and counter fake news that is dangerous to people's lives and to efforts to contain the spread of the (COVID-19) pandemic."
Roberts, Owen (author / President, International Federation of Agricultural Journalists)
Format:
Commentary
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
International: International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), Ormstown, Quebec, Canada
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 163 Document Number: D11647
Notes:
2 pages., Online from publisher., During a global coronavirus pandemic, IFAJ President Owen Roberts emphasizes the vital importance of journalists in helping people be informed and safe. "The world will change hugely in the next 365 days as we grapple with the pandemic... But two things won't change: these are farmers' need to feed the world and journalists' role in helping them do so. Through our global network for agricultural journalism, we can make a difference in how effective this all works out."
21 pages, via online journal, How an agricultural organization handles the way the media reports a crisis can have an impact on the public’s perceptions of the organization, and sometimes the industry as a whole. The popularity of social media outlets as a venue for disseminating and gathering information and news makes the use of social media surrounding agricultural crises an important topic to investigate (Glynn, Huge, & Hoffman 2012; Hermida, 2010). A qualitative case study was conducted to investigate the use of social media tools during an agricultural crisis. The participants – communications directors, social media managers, and individuals with a close connection to the crisis under study – reported that social media was a major component of their communication efforts surrounding each crisis. Participants felt social media was very effective in these situations and had a major impact on their communication efforts. Although no participants reported using a structured social media strategy or crisis communication plan, they stated a need for such guidelines in the agricultural industry. From the data analyzed in this study, a model for using social media during a crisis situation, aimed specifically for use by those in the agricultural industry, was developed. This project was funded through the USDA's Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Project.
22 pages, Cambodia’s ruling party cracked down on the press, civil society, and opposition in the lead up to the 2018 national elections. Drawing on interviews with Cambodian journalists who lost their jobs, as well as long-standing research on rural struggles in Cambodia, we argue that the Cambodian state’s crackdown on media is part of an ongoing transformation of authoritarian populism that has reduced the space for rural collective action. The state’s repression and co-optation of media also signals a change in the ruling party’s brand of populist authoritarianism: from simultaneously courting and spreading fear amongst rural voters, to casting rural people aside. The media is a space of both emancipatory and authoritarian potential, and for the journalists who saw themselves as building the post-conflict democratic state, the crackdown signals the loss of a more emancipatory, democratic imaginary. This study contributes to analyses of authoritarianism as practice by drawing attention to the various scales and spaces in which it is produced, enacted, and imagined.
