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“The college solution to rural news deserts”
We are adding a 2024 Daily Yonder news item of that title to the ACDC collection. It involves troubling results of an annual “State of Local News Project” by Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. The report revealed:
- An “alarming uptick in news deserts across the country. Since 2005, the country has lost almost 2,900 newspapers and 43,000 journalists.
- “Of the 3,143 counties in the U.S., more than half, or 1,766, have either no local news source or only one remaining outlet…”
- Most of the counties at the greatest risk of losing a local source of news and information are in high-poverty areas in the South and Midwest.
- The problem is especially prevalent in rural areas. “Two-thirds of nonmetropolitan counties have only one news outlet or none at all, versus 40% in metropolitan counties.”
Authors Richard Watts and Meg Little Reilly identified one bright spot, as a potential for addressing this problem. They noted that 627 U.S. colleges and universities are located in rural areas. About 95% are located in a news desert or in a county adjacent to a news desert. Authors cited encouraging experience with colleges and universities engaging journalism students with rural communities to support local news.
“…our democracy relies upon the presence of a thriving ecosystem of reliable local news.”
You can read “The college solution to rural news deserts” by open access.
Illinois hosts a visitor from the IFAJ presidium
Agricultural communications faculty members at the University of Illinois appreciated a recent visit from the vice president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. Adalberto (Addy) Rossi is an agricultural writer, radio host, digital editor, and magazine producer in Argentina. He has been the Argentinian member of IFAJ executive committee since 2013 when he was also in charge of the IFAJ Annual Congress in that country. While on the University of Illinois campus early this month he visited with students in an international agricultural communications course and with others in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES).
Remembering Greg Henderson
We join many others in remembering a highly-respected editor and influential voice in the U.S. livestock industry. Greg Henderson, editorial director of Drovers magazine, passed away unexpectedly on August 16. An award-winning journalist during his career of nearly 40 years, he served as president of the Livestock Publications Council (LPC) during 2000-2001. He was inducted into the LPC Hall of Fame in 2008.
Fifty-five of Greg’s always-thoughtful commentaries are preserved and available in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center collection. They extend back 35 years. You can identify them through an “Author” search on “Greg Henderson” in the ACDC database search system.
New research in the Journal of Applied Communications
You can read these articles in Issue 2, Volume 108 of JAC by open access:
“An enthusiastic but uncertain welcome: Coverage of risks, benefits, and social contexts of CRISPR technology in US. Agricultural news 2012-2022”
By Lindsey Middleton, Anqi Shao, Ashley Cate, Jade Haugen, and Nan Li
“Measuring agricultural means of influence on young adults via Instagram in the United States”
By Samantha Bennett, David S. Martin, Jason T. Sawyer, Soren P. Rodning, and Don Mulvaney
“Influence of production method information on acceptance of precision-grown food compared to conventional and organic food: The role of consumer innovativeness” By Lishan Su and Jason Ellis
“Interpreting the influence of heuristic and systematic cues on visual attention to food label claims” By Caitlin Stanton, Courtney Meyers, Nan Li, and Amber McCord
“Sewing brand messages on social media: A content analysis of Cotton Incorporated’s Instagram content stimuli” By Madalynn Kainer, Holli Leggette, Gary Wingenbach, Thomas Chappell, and Karissa Palmer
“Assessing farmers’ perceptions of best management practices: An exploration of the viewpoints of cotton and peanut farmers in Georgia using Q methodology”
By William R. Taylor, Abigail Borron, Jessica Holt, and Scott Monfort
Izzy Jebe joins the ACDC staff
We are delighted to welcome Izzy Jebe as a new student assistant in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. She is a second-year graduate student in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications (ALEC) program with an interest in nonformal education and youth program planning. Her undergraduate background is in animal sciences with a concentration on companion animal welfare and care.
“I get to overlap my interests by creating educational programs related to animal welfare for my ALEC classes. My goal is to get a second master’s in library and information sciences here at the University of Illinois. I am very interested in their youth librarianship pathway.”
Communicator events approaching
Here are event plans you may find helpful, including contact information you can use for details. We welcome suggestions or revisions for this calendar.
October 22-24, 2024
“Transparency in action” Transparency Summit sponsored by the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) in Chicago, Illinois.
November 6-7, 2024
“Level up: Sparking innovation.” Fall Virtual Conference of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE).
November 13-15, 2024
“A voice for agriculture” 81st convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri.
A thought about education
We close this issue of ACDC News with a perspective from George Horace Lorimer. He expressed it in Letters from a self-made man to his son:
“Education’s a good deal like eating – a fellow can’t always tell which particular thing did him good, but he can usually tell which one did him harm.”
A friendly reminder:
ACDC is a deep and open resource for you, so please feel free to invite our help as you search for information, local to global. You are welcomed 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 Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, 510 ACES Library, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801) – or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu