May 2009 – Funk Library – U of I Library

More bloggers (including scientists). What about science journalism? Results of a recent Nature News Survey among hundreds of science reporters track the decline of science reporting in mass media. “Supplanting the old media?” is the title of a Nature article, illustrated by a tangle of USB and laptop cords and cables. It highlighted:

Traditional media shedding full-time science journalists
Growing workloads of remaining science journalists
Greater reliance on the public relations departments of scientific organizations
More bloggers, including an increasing number of scientists
New and diverse employment opportunities for science communicators in government agencies, universities, museums, nongovernmental organizations and other venues
Need to “invent new sources of independently certified fact.”

Posted at http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090318/full/458274a.html

New course: Women impacting agricultural communication . Students at Texas A&M University enrolled last fall in a new course focusing on women professionals in agricultural journalism and communication. Teachers Tracy Rutherford and Rebecca McGovney-Ingram planned and taught it as part of a senior seminar. “The course went splendidly,” they report. It featured two areas of focus:

Women who have pioneered and contributed as professional agricultural journalists and communicators, across the decades and in various parts of the career field. Students conducted research and made individual contacts.
Discussion about what it means to be female in this work environment.

A poster describing the course has been added to the ACDC collection.

Contacts: Prof. Tracy Rutherford at trutherford@aged.tamu.edu or Rebecca McGovney-Ingram at rmcgovney-ingram@aged.tamu.edu

Part 2. Preparing agricultural journalists/communicators for the 21st Century.

Here are suggestions from Wayne Swegle, past president and an honorary member of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association, about how to design an undergraduate agricultural journalism/communications program for the 21st Century:

The art of simple writing. “I think…communicating in an easily understood fashion, even in story-telling ways, is still in vogue and important in conveying ideas.”
Greater understanding of some of the basic laws/rules of economics, as related to agriculture.
“Maybe a little dab [of communications theory and research] wouldn’t hurt anything” at the undergraduate level. “I used to say that ‘If you award a PhD to a journalist, you’ve ruined her/him for useful work.’ … Since then, I’ve been disabused of that thinking, of course.”

Read more of Wayne’s suggestions and reasons he offers for emphasizing them.

104th anniversary of the Danish Guild of Agricultural Journalists . On June 5 the Danish Guild will observe its 104th birthday. This special occasion reminds us of poignant comments made by Torsten Buhl in a jubilee speech of 2005.

“It is our ambition to continue as an important and respected forum of exchanging knowledge and information within food and agriculture, just as the guild has been for 100 years. However, we must continue to combine this exchange of information with critical questions – remembering that sustainable development in any context is closely connected to democracy. And that a free press is a precondition of democracy – and vice versa. … Scientific research, development of agricultural practice, husbandry and industry, care of the environment and so on are closely connected to a free and critical press.”

Title: Jubilee speech at NIMB
Posted at http://www.danskeslagterier.dk/smmedia/DLP-jub-Nimb-tale_doc?mb_GUID=EE90C017-0BD4-457B-93EB-D67689D85968.doc

You are marketing solutions, not food products. That message came through clearly from a speaker at the recent National Institute of Animal Agriculture conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Frank Beurskens of ShoptoCook, Inc., highlighted “Meal planning in the supermarket aisle: what consumers are telling us.” Among the insights from this presentation:

What to serve each day is the biggest challenge facing shoppers
Many complain about “recipe rut,” especially in preparing chicken
Shoppers are especially looking for meal items that kids will like
They are begging for variety and want to serve healthful food

Presentation posted, via Truffle Media Networks, at http://www.trufflemedia.com/home/content/frank-beurskens-meal-planning-in-the-supermarket-aisle-what-consumers-are-telling-us

Busy season for communicator activities

June 6-10, 2009
“When tillage begins, other arts follow.” ACE.NETC.09 sponsored by the National Extension Technology Conference (NETC) and the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE), in Des Moines, Iowa USA.
Information: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/acenetc2009

June 13-16, 2009
“Branding communications with a kick.” Annual Institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: http://www.communicators.coop

June 22-24, 2009
7th World Congress of Computers in Agriculture and Natural Resources in Reno, Nevada USA.
Information: www.wcca2009.org

June 25-27, 2009
“Free rein in the Big Easy.” Annual seminar of the American Horse Publishers (AHP) organization in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Information: www.americanhorsepubs.org/programs/seminars/index.asp

July 31-August 4, 2009
2009 Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) in conjunction with the Agricultural Media Summit in Fort Worth, Texas USA.
Information: www.ifaj.org

August 1-5, 2009
“Saddle up, catch the cowboy spirit.” Agricultural Media Summit in Fort Worth, Texas USA. Joint meeting of Livestock Publications Council (LPC), American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the National Association of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT).
Information: www.agmediasummit.org

Resolved to “be a wiser wordsmith.” Early this year we added to the ACDC collection a column in which agricultural reporter Cyndi Young-Puyear expressed this goal. She captured a desire and challenge shared by many agricultural journalists and communicators, everywhere: “These are words I just love to roll around on my tongue before speaking them, and others I could choke on before spitting them out.”

Not among her favorites: “carbon footprint,” “faith-based,” “at the end of the day” and acronyms that are “unfamiliar to almost everyone outside of production agriculture.”

Best regards and good searching. Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas for the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.uiuc.edu .

Get in touch with us when you see interesting items in the ACDC collection and can’t gain full-text access through information in the citation, or through online searching. We will help you gain access.

Update on broadband service in rural America . Recently we added to the ACDC collection the 2009 edition of “Rural Broadband at a Glance,” a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among the findings reported:

Broadband access for both rural and urban populations increased rapidly between 2000 and 2006.
Clusters of lower service exist in areas with sparse, aging and declining populations.
Internet use (at home or elsewhere) during 2007 reached 63 percent among rural households, compared with 73 percent among urban households.
Business development, telemedicine and teleworking are among the drivers for broadband development in rural areas.

Posted at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB47/EIB47.pdf

We missed a message. Did you try to get in touch with us recently about something related to agriculture as portrayed in the ads? An e-mail message with a title to that effect got lost, by accident. We apologize and would encourage you to resend it.

Preparing agricultural journalists/communicators for the 21st Century. Thanks to those who kindly shared their views recently about how to design an undergraduate agricultural journalism/communications program for the 21st Century. Their responses are being added to the ACDC collection. Also, with this issue we begin a series that highlights their suggestions.

Part 1. Samantha Yates, Publications Specialist with the Cotton Economics Research Institute, Texas Tech University , suggests these areas for emphasis:

Proper grammar
A style of writing that is both intelligent and that speaks to the level of your audience
Design and photography
Web design “is a must for ag communicators to learn”
“Communications theory and research was drilled into me all through graduate school, and while I thought a lot of it was pointless, it has made me better at my job.”

Read more of Samantha’s suggestions and reasons she offers for emphasizing them.

Shoppers still buying local during economic downturn . Two-thirds (65 percent) of United Kingdom shoppers now buy locally branded food, according to research by international grocery firm IGD. In response to a survey late last year, 60 percent predicted the economic slowdown will have no impact on those purchases. Only 20 percent expected to cut back.

“In these tough conditions, many people are keener than ever to support nearby jobs through their spending choices,” explained IGD Chief Executive Joanne Denney-Finch. Research revealed that freshness and environmental reasons also account for consumers’ enthusiasm for local food.

Citation: Shoppers still buying local despite credit crunch
Posted at http://www.igd.com/index.asp?id=1&fid=6&sid=25&tid=90&folid=0&cid=419

“We love eBlasts,” said Denise Faguy in a recent issue of the Highlighter newsletter from Farms.com. “At least we do when they are done properly.” She emphasized how email blasts can:

Build brand awareness and loyalty
Drive traffic to your website
Raise awareness (as well as generate leader or sales) for specific products or services
Provide immediate feedback. “In marketing, feedback is such an important tool and that’s why we love eblasts!”

Citation: Why we love eBlasts
Posted at http://www.professional.farms.com/cms/en/eblast.aspx

Is dietary knowledge enough? No. Healthy eating involves more than increasing public awareness of better diets and healthy lifestyles. A recent research report we added from the U. S. Department of Agriculture documented the over-riding impact of “visceral,” impulsive influences.”

Analyses of data about food intake revealed that individuals were significantly likely to consume more calories and lower their diet quality when:

Intervals between meals were extended
They ate away from home

How about going out for a late meal this evening?

Citation: Is dietary knowledge enough?
Report posted at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR62/#2008-8-11

Busy season for communicator activities

May 21-25, 2009
“Keywords in communication.” 2009 conference of the International Communication Association in Chicago, Illinois USA.
Information: www.icahdq.org

May 24-28, 2009
“25 years of strengthening international agricultural and extension education.” Annual conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Puerto Rico.
Information: www.aiaee.org

May 27-29, 2009
Fourth international conference on ICT for development, education and training in Dakar, Senegal.
Information: www.elearning-africa.com

June 22-24, 2009
7th World Congress of Computers in Agriculture and Natural Resources in Reno, Nevada USA.
Information: www.wcca2009.org

Month: May 2009

ACDC News – Issue 09-10

ACDC News – Issue 09-09

News Archive