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When Lightning Ridge lost its newspaper
Local residents of that rural Australian town lamented their loss of The Ridge News and experienced a fragmenting, less-vibrant public sphere, according to a recent article in the Australian Journalism Review.
Researchers Marco Magasic and Kristy Hess used a two-month focused ethnographic study to explore people’s media-related practices following the closure of the town’s only newspaper in 2015. While social media are considered to have partly filled a news void, the loss led to growing complacency among individuals about political affairs, especially in local government.
You can read the abstract and learn how to buy the article via IngentaConnect.com here. Or confer with us at acdc@library.illinois.edu
“How should journalists cover climate change?”
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert asked that question in a Nieman Reports article we added to the ACDC collection recently. Her take on answering the question:
“It’s a very hard issue to cover because it is everything. It’s every aspect of how we live. Its causes are ubiquitous, and its effects are ubiquitous. There are no great stories. Climate change has never really been a good story and won’t ever, on some level, be a good story. I applaud everyone covering climate now if for nothing else, trying to make people think about how we are going to cover this issue.”
You can read this article here.
Role of NGOs in building connections and belonging among refugees in Colorado meatpacking industries
“Unsettled belonging in complex geopolitics” is the title of a 2021 article we have added from the Sustainability journal. A seven-person research team from three universities used data analysis and interviews to examine how “multi-scalar geopolitical processes shape processes of refugee resettlement and refugee labor in Colorado meatpacking industries. They found that non-governmental organization (NGO) employees, “many of whom identify as foreign-born and/or refugees, work to build connection and belonging among refugees in challenging resettlement environments.”
You can read the article by open access here.
What “sustainability” means to U.S. fruit and vegetable growers
Growers of produce in the U.S. most often think of three things when they consider sustainability:
- Essential long-term viability (61%)
- Natural resource stewardship (58%)
- Being able to pass the farm on to another generation (58%)
That finding came from a recent Sustainable Insights survey by The Packer periodical. Editor Tom Karst observed that the three considerations can be summarized with one theme – “keeping the farm for the long run,”
You can read this brief research summary here.
Impact of government promotion of agricultural exports in Nigeria
Findings reported in the first 2021 issue of the African Journal of Economic Review revealed a significant positive short- and long-run impact of government-sponsored promotion of agricultural exports in Nigeria. Findings by researchers also highlighted the need to be selective in the choice of export promotion strategies.
You can read this article here.
Communicator events approaching
Uncertainties of the COVID-19 health issue continue to prompt flexible event planning. Here are plans of which we are aware, with contact information you can use for details.
October 15, 2021
Deadline for submitting professional development papers and sessions at the 2022 National Agricultural Communications Symposium (above). Information from Annie Specht at specht.21@osu.edu
October 22, 2021
Deadline for submitting posters at the 2022 National Agricultural Communications Symposium (above). Information from Shuyang Qu via squ@iastate.edu
October 26-28, 2021
Annual Conference of the Agricultural Relations Council in Richmond, Virginia.
Information: https://agrelationscouncil.org/agricultural-relations-council-annual-meeting
November 17-19, 2021
“Harvesting News for Rural America,” Convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri.
Information: https://nafb.com
Another twist on life
We close this issue of ACDC News with thanks to veteran agricultural writer Fred Myers. Responding to an insight we cited from Will Rogers in the August issue, he shared with us another “good twist on life.” It also came years ago – from steamy entertainer Mae West:
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
Offering information and best regards
ACDC is a resource for you, so please feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valued international collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801) – or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu