Ferraz de Oliveira Nicholas – Page 13 – Funk Library

ACDC News – Issue 09-21

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

When producers consider growing biofuel crops . Recent research among crop growers in Oklahoma identified two barriers to energy crop production, in the minds of producers:

Lack of markets (biorefineries)
Information about producing biofuel crops

Most growers (75 percent) were familiar with the biofuel industry, mainly through two information sources: television news and newspapers. Also, most (75 percent) said they were interested in converting cropland for biofuel production. Authors of the research report recommended an educational campaign focused on biofuel crop production practices and marketing.

Citation: Stake in the bioeconomy
Posted at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/rb5.php

New strategic plan for communicating about food risks . The Food and Drug Administration recently released a 46-page strategic plan that defines risk communication for the future, identifies underlying principles of risk communication and sets strategic goals.

During the year ahead, the organization intends to:

Enhance the science that supports effective risk communication
Expand FDA capacity to generate, disseminate and oversee effective risk communication
Optimize FDA policies on communicating risks and benefits

Posted at www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Reports/ucm183683.pdf

Covering rural health issues high in the Andes. “…just as Garfinkel learned the power of silence with the monks, so did I among the Peruvian women.” Journalist Rebecca Rivas offered that observation after her experience in producing a documentary during 2004-2006 examining the interface of maternity traditions and institutional medicine in rural Peru. “Listening and simply being present became my most helpful tool in reporting in rural Andean communities.”

“It is a wise journalist who can flow like water through the world’s inner workings. One day, I hope to be that journalist.”

You can read a report of her experiences in an article, “Capturing life at 12,000 feet,” that she wrote for the Global Journalist. Also, you can view her video on YouTube.

Citation: Capturing life at 12,000 feet
Posted at: http://www.globaljournalist.org/stories/2006/04/01/capturing-life-at-12000-feet

A new dimension of agricultural narrowcasting. Specialized, topic-centered agricultural broadcast services (such as the Tobacco Radio Network) have been on the scene for decades. Now the podcasting technologies are creating businesses for some innovative agricultural broadcasting entrepreneurs. Chuck Zimmerman of ZimmComm New Media interviewed one of them recently – Glenn Hebert, owner of the Horse Radio Network, based at Jefferson City, Missouri. Hebert produces and airs 10 podcasts a week about various sectors and interests of the horse industry. His business model involves selling advertising and voicing commercials for sponsors.

During the interview he emphasized a unique feature of podcasts. Unlike broadcasts, podcasts can be archived and retrieved for easy future access. Like agricultural broadcasts, podcasts require effort. “It takes time,” Hebert explained.

You can hear the interview at: http://agwired.com/2009/11/02/the-horse-radio-network

“Where do you find this information?” We often get that question from those who use resources in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. And there is no easy answer because the sources of it are so scattered. Here are some of the unlikely periodicals in which we have found information about agricultural communications during recent months:

Men’s Health
Toxicology Letters
Acta Tropica
Entrepreneur
Environmental Hazards
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Weed Technology
Structural Safety

Please keep an eye open for literature about this field of interest. We will appreciate learning of it, wherever it originates. Your alert can come to us at: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

Communicator activities approaching

January 25, 2010
Deadline for submitting research papers, research proposals and theses/dissertations for the 2010 Conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). The conference takes place June 14-17 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Information: Emily Rhoades at rhoades.100@cfaes.osu.edu

April 17-21, 2010
“Between passion & press ure” 54th Annual Congress, International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) hosted by the Belgian Association of Agricultural Journalists at Ostend, Belgium.
Information: http://www.ifaj2010.org

April 21-23, 2010
“Celebrating success in America’s heartland” 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference sponsored by the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) in Kansas City, Missouri USA
Information: www.nama.org

April 26-29, 2010
XIIIth World Congress of the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD) in Montpellier, France. Organized by Agropolis International.
Information: http://iaald2010.agropolis.fr

Agricultural “Word of the Week.” Recently we came across this term – ECOBUAGE – in the digital repository of the State Library of Pennsylvania. It was used in an 1848 book by Campbell Morfitt, Manures, their composition, preparation, and action upon soils. Ecobuage is described as the process of “burning organic matters of the soil upon their own locality, especially when they are poor in nitrogenous principles.” Farmers practice(d) it by setting fire to fields when the grass is dry enough to burn. The object: “…set at liberty, by a slow decomposition, the principles contained in the vegetable matters and thus render them available to the soil.”

You can view this document online at http://accesspadr.org > Search on the title. The description of ecobuage is on pages 59-60.

What agriculture-related term might you nominate as Word of the Week? Send it to us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu

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.

ACDC News – Issue 09-20

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

Tracking public perceptions about H1N1 and pork . Here are some of the research results we are seeing around the world about public perceptions regarding H1N1 flu, especially regarding concerns of the pork industry through identification as “swine flu.” Most research studies being reported to date have tracked the early stages.

“Initial psychological responses to Influenza A, H1N1 (‘Swine flu’)”
Findings from a May 2009 survey among European residents indicated that only 7 percent had stopped eating pork.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/9/166

“Widespread public misconception in the early phase of the H1N1 influenza epidemic”
A June 2009 article in the Journal of Infection reported that only 6.9 percent of sampled Chinese residents of Hong Kong said they believe the H1N1 influenza is transmitted by eating well-cooked pork.
http://download.thelancet.com/flatcontentassets/H1N1-flu/preparedness/preparedness-51.pdf

“H1N1/swine flu update”
A May 2009 article from the Tempert Report cited a SupermarketGuru quick poll indicating that 93 percent of sampled U. S. consumers said they feel it is safe to eat pork products.
http://www.foodnutritionscience.com/index.cfm/do/monsanto.article/articleId/305.cfm

“Public perceptions, anxiety and behaviour change in relation to the swine flu outbreak: cross sectional telephone survey”
A research article in BMJ reported results of a telephone survey during May among adults in England, Scotland and Wales. Findings showed that at that early stage of the outbreak relatively few people made recommended changes in their behavior, despite widespread advertising and media coverage.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/jul02_3/b2651

Students learning rural journalism, hands-on . Using a two-part video series, students in a community radio class at West Virginia University documented their experience in learning how to help local residents tell their own stories. Class members teamed with teachers and students of Monroe County Vocational Technical Center to create a local news program, “News at noon.” It was aired daily on an FM station based at the Center. Class members mentored and otherwise helped the high school students and local residents learn how to cover and report news of local interest. Beyond the skills involved, college and high school students alike said they learned about the value of community radio.

View the video at http://www.youtube.com > Search on “grassroots journalism”

Communication? Communications? Based on spellings and rationales used by the thousands of authors represented in this ACDC collection, it seems you can argue your case for either spelling. Take your pick. Spellings vary even within documents, we find. Staff associate Jim Evans observed recently:

“Corresponding about this recently with a friend in the academic community, I ventured: ‘Would I be wrong in observing that researchers tend to adopt the spellings used, by tradition, in their home colleges/units? It seems we kind of inherit our spelling practices, based on rationales established early in the development of our academic units. I was influenced by the views of Dean Ted Peterson and others in the College of Communications here. They used communications to refer to means and activities – and used communication to refer to the process.'”

Here in the Center we let the spellings flow as they will. Fortunately, people seem accustomed to seeing and hearing an inscrutable variety.” We welcome any thoughts you have on this front. Reply to docctr@library.uiuc.edu

Use computer mapping to boost agri-tourism, sell produce and… Writing in the Journal of Extension , Ohio extension educator David Marrison described how he used a computer program to map local farms for rapid response to agricultural emergencies. He explained that educators can also employ this technology for many other uses, ranging from promoting local products and custom services to tracking weed infestations and mapping shortfalls in group membership.

“Educators are only limited by their imaginations for developing mapping programs,” he concluded.

Citation: Using computer technology to map local farms
Posted at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/tt7.php

The future of African development is mobile. Or is it? Are you interested in some of the conversation about harnessing wireless technology to spur rural development, internationally? If so, here are two reports we added recently to the ACDC collection from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada:

1. A case study in Uganda describes how many rural villages lack power, but have cellular coverage. PDAs were used in testing a new health network to improve access to medical information.

Citation: The future of Africa is mobile
Posted at http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-93967-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

2. Alison Gillwald of Research ICT Africa identifies four challenges to extending the use of cheap and portable devices like mobile phones and PDAs.

Citation: Reality check: Will cellphones really solve Africa’s problems?
Posted at http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-135108-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

“Sow the wounds” is the eye-catching headline of a recent news report from Farms.com. It introduced current price information in the hog market, with a side note about losses that producers are sustaining.

“Looking like 1998 all over again, there seems to be no news of a Government aid plan coming, and producers are losing a lot of money. It’s time to look at sewing the wounds, or in this case sowing the wounds!”

Thanks to John Otte of Farm Progress for alerting us to it.

Communicator activities approaching

Ain’t nature grand? A reader asked that question in the January 30, 1937, issue of Prairie Farmer . Why such awe, we might wonder, during those desperate years of the Depression?

“A million years ago she didn’t know we would be wearing goggles some day, yet look at the way she placed our ears.”

ACDC News – Issue 09-19

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

“Effective communication with wide cross sections of society is probably more important now than it’s ever been.” This statement came recently from Dietram Scheufele, a life sciences communication faculty member at the University of Wisconsin. He expressed it in a conversation involving his research on communications about nanotechnology.

“The tricky part,” he added, “is that, while scientists generally realize how important it is to connect with the public, many people have taken the approach that it will be enough if we just put sound science out there. But unfortunately that’s not really supported by our research.”

Note: Many documents in the ACDC collection reinforce his point – that in the public arena, “sound science” is not enough.

Citation: Professor provides analysis of work on nanotechnology research
Posted at http://www.news.wisc.edu/16060

Five tips for helping groups approach complex, value-laden issues. We have added to the ACDC collection a “how to” article in which Extension professionals describe five simple communications techniques for approaching tough issues in group sessions. These techniques are designed to reduce tensions, define real issues, address underlying values, break out of the usual brain patterns, involve different learning styles and discover unanticipated opportunities.

Citation: Communication techniques for initiating discussion
Posted at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/tt1.php

Who is responsible for ensuring basic food needs? The government should be responsible, according to results of a recent worldwide poll in 21 nations. This survey by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, University of Maryland, indicated:

Majorities of 70-97 percent in all 21 countries said government should be responsible for meeting their basic need for food. The average was 87 percent.
The most universal support for government responsibility was found in eight nations: Indonesia (97 percent), China (96 percent), Jordan (96 percent), Kenya (96 percent), Argentina (94 percent), Azerbaijan (93 percent), Germany (93 percent) and Italy (92 percent).
Respondents in the following nations expressed least inclination toward that view: India (70 percent), U. S. (74 percent) and Russia (77 percent).

Posted at http://www.worldpublicopinion.org

Miscommunicating with pets . So you think you can recognize when your dog has misbehaved? You think you see a “guilty look?” If so, findings of a study reported recently in Behavioural Processes might prompt you to reconsider. Experimentation by researcher Alexandra Horowitz revealed that the human tendency to attribute a “guilty look” to a dog was not due to whether the dog was indeed guilty.

“Instead, people see ‘guilt’ in a dog’s body language when they believe the dog has done something it shouldn’t have – even if the dog is in fact completely innocent of any offense.”

Citation: What really prompts the guilty look
News release posted at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/e-wrp061109.php

Impact of classic rural photography . A new documentary focuses on perhaps the most influential rural photography effort in U. S. history. “Documenting the face of America: Roy Stryker and the FSA/OWI Photographers” is the title of this film which premiered during August on national public television. It “brings to life the remarkable stories behind the legendary group of New Deal-sponsored photographers who traversed the country in the 1930s and early 1940s to capture some of the most iconic images in history,” explained an announcement. Experiences and photos of Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks and other respected photographers are featured through their work with the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information.

You can learn more about the documentary and the work of those featured in it at:

http://www.documentingamerica.org/Home.html
http://www.kcet.org/programs/online-magazine/index.php?pid=3

ICT – more than computers and the internet. Kimberly Clarke emphasized that point about information and communications technologies in an article we added recently to the ACDC collection.

She noted an international report that mentioned only Morse code, the telephone, wireless transmission, television, and satellite, mobile and fiber optic telecommunications in a timeline of ITC milestones. “There was no mention of the invention or evolution of papermaking, the printing press, or basic writing instruments such as pens and pencils. Relatively cheap technologies such as cameras, typewriters, tape records, VCRs and fax machines are ignored, as are the services and transport technologies that have revolutionized communications: the postal system, bicycles, cars, trains and aeroplanes, to name a few.” She argued that “for the vast majority of poor people in developing countries, the best solutions will continue to be the ones that they are already relying on now: other people in their social network, radio, and in some cases printed materials. There is huge room for improvement in many of these ‘old’ ICTs.”

Citation: ICT – what does it all mean?

Communicator activities approaching

October 30, 2009
Deadline for research and professional papers to be presented in the Agricultural Communications Section of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) conference on February 6-9, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.
Information: http://agnews.tamu.edu/saas > “Call for Papers for 2010 Meeting”

November 11-13, 2009
“Connecting: 2010 and beyond.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nafb.com

Tapping into livestock courting skills . We close with a limerick that sheds important light on communications skills of pigs.

There once was a pig called Norton,
Who attracted his wife by snortin’.
You may think this crude,
But to a pig it’s not rude.
‘Cause that’s how pigs go a-courtin’.

“I wrote this in my 11th grade English class at Pennridge High School, Perkasie, Pa. back when I was an FFA student,” Jim Phillips explained to us recently. Do you suppose his early signs of creative rural writing help account for his becoming a senior editor of Progressive Farmer magazine?

Thanks to Jim for this contribution. Do we have other writers or collectors of limericks that touch on the communications aspects of agriculture? If so, please send them to us by return e-note.

ACDC News – Issue 09-18

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

Sharp pains – and how health words matter in the public mind. Producers in the U. S. pork industry feel a sharp pain from this insight that is supported by research from the United Kingdom. A team of researchers in the Economic and Social Research Council has been examining the public interpretation of terminology used in policy documents and media coverage of health issues such as the bird flu scare and the foot and mouth outbreak.

“We found that the way people communicate about a threat largely determines how they understand it and behave towards it,” said lead researcher Brigitte Nerlich. Some terms can make people sit up and listen, she reported, but they can also lead to panic or cynicism. She did not report research about how terminology may affect buying behavior.

“Recent advice on [H1N1] flu has centred on basic hygiene, which makes people feel they can do something practical, instead of being mere victims of so-called ‘superbugs’ or ‘killer viruses.’ But obviously this is easier to do when a disease is relatively benign.”

Citation: Words matter in public health
Posted at http://www.esrc.ac.uk > conduct a site search on the document title

We extend anniversary congratulations to the University of the Philippines at Los Baños and the College of Development Communication within it. This month marks the Centennial observance of the founding of UPLB. Also, this year marks the 55th anniversary of the College, which was formed in 1954 as the Office of Extension and Publications within what was then the UP College of Agriculture.

Today the UPLB College of Development Communication is the only academic institution in the world that offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy programs in Development Communication. Faculty members within it have pioneered in teaching, research and outreach related to this field.

Visit the UPLB College of Development Communication web site at: http://www.devcom.edu.ph

Rural economies benefit from broadband access . Digital divide remains. Evidence of economic benefit is available in an August 2009 report from the Economic Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Researchers cited relatively higher growth in employment and nonfarm private earnings in counties that had broadband access by 2000.

Rural-urban differences continue at the household level, researchers found. “By 2007, most households (82 percent) with in-home Internet access had a broadband connection. A marked difference exists, however, between urban and rural broadband use – only 70 percent of rural households with in-home Internet access had a broadband connection in 2007, compared with 84 percent of urban households.”

Citation: Broadband value for rural America
Posted at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err78

Where livestock producers turn for animal and herd health information. A survey reported in a recent issue of the Journal of Extension tracked the information sources of more than 1,700 Tennessee livestock producers. Among the findings:

The most commonly used source of animal or herd health information was the local veterinarian, followed by media sources, such as magazines, and the Extension Service.
About one in four used information from animal health companies.
One in 14 used the College of Veterinary Medicine.
About one in five used the Internet for such information.
More than 60 percent used more than one information source.
Multiple livestock enterprises seemed to invite use of more sources.

Citation: Use of animal or herd health information sources
Posted at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/a7.php

Pop radio program makes donkeys more productive, boys more attractive. Creative media selection has provided greater productivity and better lives for some working donkeys in Kenya. It also has added self-esteem and popularity among the teenage boys who handle them.

A report we have added to the ACDC collection explains how several health and animal protection agencies teamed up with an FM radio station. The station aired a series of programs aimed to change how the teenage donkey handlers saw themselves and how to care for and manage their donkeys. Helpful information, soap-style dramas, prize T-shirts and presence on a pop music channel at a specific time of day proved a winning combination – for the boys and their donkeys.

Citation: Communications success stories
Posted at http://www.developments.org.uk/articles/the-donkeys-tale

Seeking directions in the global biotech adventure. Lori Weaver, publisher and editor of Feeding the Globe , has revealed some recent discussion about the need for, and value of, genetically modified crops. A commentary we added recently to the ACDC collection presented some of the recent dialogue among scientists and interest groups about the role of biotechnology in global food security.

“Maybe the solution means we don’t necessarily choose one way at the exclusion of all others,” she observed.

Citation: Stopping for directions
Posted at http://www.agnewscenter.com/archives.cfm?news=4087

Communicator activities approaching

October 18-25, 2009
“The state of forestry information worldwide.” Special session at the XIII World Forestry Congress 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Information: http://www.fao.org/forestry/53818/en/

November 11-13, 2009
“Connecting: 2010 and beyond.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nafb.com

Fire away, Smedley. Do you champion coordinated approaches to agricultural communicating? Are you impatient with piecemeal approaches? If so, you may appreciate this image from veteran communicator Bob Kern. A long-time advocate of the “consulting communicator” role, Bob recalls attending the first regional meeting of the American Association of Agricultural College Editors (AAACE) in 1951 or 1952.

After a discussion that ranged widely and lacked much significance, one of the editors stood up and recalled a cartoon set on the bridge of a weathered-in Coast Guard cutter, shrouded in thick fog. The caption could be a motto for communicators who remain satisfied with fragmented, blind and short-cut approaches to agricultural communicating:

“Fire into the fog, Smedley. There may be a rum-runner there.”

ACDC News – Issue 09-17

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

How U. S. crop growers are using social media . A new document in the ACDC collection summarizes results of telephone survey research during early 2009 by Nicholson Kovac, Inc., among large-acreage corn and soybean growers in U.S. Some of the highlights:

Sixty-two percent said they have sent or received text messages during the past year.
Forty-eight percent of those texting said they send five or more texts per day and 63 percent said they have taken photos with their mobile phones.
Forty-seven percent said they spend five hours or more per week online.
For their business/farm interests, growers said they use Internet most for e-mail and weather and market information.
Eighty-five percent said they visit Web sites related to their farm operations and 76 percent check manufacturers’ Web sites.

Posted at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Nicholson-Kovac/agmedia-study/prweb2767974.htm

“My writing style is indeed idiosyncratic,” says agricultural writer Sue Edmonds of New Zealand. This “late blooming” journalist in the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators is featured on the web site of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ). She shares some thoughts about her career, how she gets story ideas and how she approaches agricultural writing. She also provides several samples of her writing.

Posted at http://www.ifaj.org/professional-development/professional-features/a-late-blooming-farming-writer.html

Touch-screen learning breaks literacy barriers. “Livestock Guru” is the name of an interactive computer program proving helpful to livestock producers, even those unable to read. Created by researchers at the University of Reading, UK, it teaches farmers how to diagnose, prevent and treat specific animal diseases. Experiences in Bolivia revealed that producers using Guru showed up to 44 percent increase in basic knowledge. This response was 10 percent better than that from conventional media such as videos or written materials. Guru had also been used with success in India and Kenya at the time of this 2006 report we have added to the ACDC collection.

Posted at http://www.developments.org.uk/articles/livestock-guru-cures-cows

Greater transparency – greater public uncertainty – then what? Researcher Lynn Frewer examined that matter in a Toxicology Letters article we added recently to the ACDC collection. “Increasing …pressure has been directed toward maximizing transparency in risk management practices,” Frewer noted. “As a result the uncertainties associated with technical risk assessments…will increasingly be subject to public and stakeholder scrutiny. It is therefore important to communicate this uncertainty in an explicit and understandable way that is focused on the information needs of target audiences.”

Is the public able to understand and deal with uncertainty about complex risks? Frewer examines research about this question (answering “yes”), calls for more research and urges institutions to “learn how to internalize public views and societal values into the process of risk analysis.”

Abstract and full-text purchase information at www.sciencedirect.com

“Masses have sense.” Lynn Frewer’s thoughts about abilities of the lay public to understand complex risks remind us of a 1960 document in the ACDC collection by Samuel Lubell. He spent a career analyzing opinion trends (including research among farmers and others in rural areas). His observations prompted him to emphasize several points:

It is not true that the masses of people are less able than the more educated to master complicated detail. “I have done surveys of attitudes on automobiles and lawn-growing and have been astonished at the amount of complex, technical information the average man possessed on things that interest him .”
In voting, professors are as emotional and irrational as ditch-diggers.
“In the light of this, it is difficult to believe that the general public is inherently incapable of understanding complex public issues.”

This document is not in digital format. Check with us docctr@library.illinois.edu if you are interested.

View the video at http://www.youtube.com > Search on “grassroots journalism”

Communicator activities approaching

October 15, 2009
Deadline for submission of abstracts of papers and posters to be presented at the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD) XIIIth World Congress, Montpellier, France, April 26-29, 2010. Theme: “Scientific and technical information and rural development: highlights of innovative practices.”
Information: http://iaald2010.agropolis.fr

October 15-18, 2009
Annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists in Houston, Texas USA.
Information: http://www.afjonline.com

November 11-13, 2009
“Connecting: 2010 and beyond.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nafb.com

Closing with a farm limerick . We close this issue of ACDC News with a limerick that caught our eye recently (yes, really) in the February 1, 1912, issue of Prairie Farmer .

A town chap who played in the band
Felt a call to go back to the land.
When he raises big corn
He can blow his own horn,
An advantage you’ll all understand.

ACDC News – Issue 09-16

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

Time magazine as “a part of a conversation.” The role of news media jumped front-and-center during August when Time magazine devoted cover emphasis to a commentary critical of the agrifood system and practices in the U.S. “Getting real about the high price of cheap food” is the title of this piece by Bryan Walsh. AgriTalk host Mike Adams asked the author in a phone interview if that isn’t one-sided – and if readers of a news vehicle wouldn’t get the perception of such an article as a news story rather than an opinion piece.

“We’re getting a lot of stories that are more angled toward the point of view of the writer,” Walsh replied, referring to recent changes in the editorial approach at Time , “and there’s pluses and minuses to that in many ways. On the one hand, we’ve found that we want to be part of a conversation and to be in front of the conversation means not just recording one perspective and another, just going back and forth like that, but saying this is what we can bring to the story and this is what we think and then we start off this conversation that hopefully goes forward.”

You can read text of the phone interview at:
http://www.drovers.com/news_editorial.asp?pgID=675&ed_id=6029

Some of the early and varied responses in this media-coverage issue have been added already to the ACDC collection. Here are a few samples:

” Ag groups riled by Time article: call for letters to the editor ”

” Time trashes American agriculture ”

” Sustainable ag meets MSM (mainstream media) – and wins ”

” Time brings the debate over food reform to the living room ”

Ag journalists are paying more attention to ethics, according to a research summary in the August/September issue of ByLine , newsletter of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA). The report highlights 20 years of research among AAEA members about their experiences and views concerning the relationship between advertising and editorial coverage.

Findings suggest that AAEA members, their publications and advertisers are showing signs of strengthening the role of editorial independence in today’s commercial environment. However, these agricultural journalists continue to have significant ethical concerns. Researchers Karen Simon, Owen Roberts and Jim Evans reported findings during the recent Agricultural Media Summit and International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in Fort Worth, Texas.

Posted at http://www.ageditors.com > August/September 2009 issue of ByLine

Bringing juice-taste marketing to mass media . That’s the idea behind efforts of an ink marketer, US Ink, to encourage newspapers to stick flavored strips on pages to allow readers to taste the product advertised. The patented product, Taste-It Notes, was introduced earlier this year, according to a report from NorthJersey.com. The flavored strip is sealed inside a pouch to keep it fresh and hygienic until the package is broken open and tasted. The report we have added to the ACDC collection described positive results from a peel-and-taste strip placed in a grape juice advertisement in People magazine.

Beware the varied faces of “indigenous.” “To most readers, listeners or viewers, the word ‘indigenous’ would seem harmless enough as a description of an exotic group in a far away place,” wrote Christina Tercero in the Global Journalist magazine of the International Press Institute. “But actually the writer using it generally does so out of a laziness or need for over-simplification. In fact, its use is controversial, leaving a large gap between reality and what the word conveys to readers.”

Tercero based these observations on an analysis of how reporters at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and CNN determined when, how and to whom to apply the term “indigenous.”

Citation: Defining indigenous in international news
Posted at http://www.globaljournalist.org/stories/2007/01/01/defining-indigenous-in-international-news/

Continuing concerns about cloning animals . A Gallup Poll during May 2009 revealed that U. S. citizens are still concerned about cloning of animals. Sixty-three percent of respondents in this national survey considered the cloning of animals as morally wrong. About one-third considered cloning of animals as morally acceptable. Less than two percent said they don’t know.

Citation: Gallup Poll: whether cloning of animals is morally acceptable or morally wrong
Posted at http://institution.gallup.com

Using social media in Extension: a beginner’s guide. A new resource we have added to the ACDC collection offers insights and tips in plain language for Extension educators who wish to consider using social media. This brief guide identifies some social media applications in Extension programming and provides tips such as:

Using a newsreader
Commenting on others’ work
Sharing content, knowledge, ideas and products openly
Writing for the Web
Taking part in online communities
Using Creative Commons licenses

Posted at http://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/Beginners_Guide_to_Social_Media_in_Extension

Communicator activities approaching

October 15-18, 2009
Annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists in Houston, Texas USA.
Information: http://www.afjonline.com

November 11-13, 2009
“Connecting: 2010 and beyond.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nafb.com

We’re still fertilizing the agri-vocabulary. Last month we explained how “pellucid” is among the words MSN Encarta insists everyone simply should know. It describes expression that is easy to understand, clear in meaning or transparent. We asked what fresh term(s) we might use to describe the opposite kind of writing.

Thanks to Brian Meyer at Iowa State University for this suggestion:

“The opposite might be…putrid?”

ACDC News – Issue 09-15

Posted on August 15, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

H1N1 Flu? Swine Flu? – Appealing to a media ombudsman. Here is one method being used to help clear the confusion. A concerned resident in Ontario, Canada, is appealing to the ombudsman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for help in addressing this internationally pesky issue of terminology. Owen Roberts, University of Guelph, describes the effort in his blog, “Urban Cowboy.” The resident argues that use of the term “swine flu” leads to unjust bias against pork and harm to the swine industry.

Posted at: http://www.urbancowboy.ca/2009/08/17/cbc-ombudsman-asked-to-intervene-on-h1n1-swine-flu-verbiage/

“Ethical food shopping is now mainstream in Europe ,” according to research from IGD, an international food and grocery firm. “Until recently, ethical food shoppers were seen as niche. Now as many as seven out of ten Europeans we surveyed buy ethically at least some of the time.”

What are the dimensions of ethical shopping? Priorities vary in countries and cultures across Europe, but here are some aspects of it in the minds of consumers:

Environmentally friendly
Organic, sustainable
Fair Trade
Local sourcing
Animal welfare

The report we added to the ACDC collection emphasized how food products with ethical credentials offer immense growth potential.

Citation: British shoppers lead the way
Posted at: http://www.igd.com/index.asp?id=1&fid=6&sid=25&tid=90&folid=0&cid=372

“Celebrity chefs – the new demagogues.” That is the title of a commentary we added recently to the ACDC collection from the International Public Relations Association. Pointing to the popularity of celebrity chefs in the United Kingdom, the author expressed concern about:

The dip in credibility of scientific experts producing nutrition-related reports that often contradict one another.
A growing relationship between the exultation of food (from chefs) and fear (from news of the day).

“Clearly the days of activist celebrity chefs are with us. Good luck to them, but for those of us charged with the challenge of communicating on behalf of the rest of the food industry, let’s try that bit harder.”

Citation: Celebrity chefs
Posted at http://www.ipra.org/detail.asp?articleid=990

Public image of U. S. farming and agriculture shown slipping . We recently assembled for the ACDC collection a six-year trend analysis of this “image” matter. Results are based on results of seven Gallup Polls among U. S. adults between 2001 and 2008. Respondents in each survey were asked to say whether their overall view of farming and agriculture is very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative or very negative.

The share of “very positive” responses dropped from 23% in 2001 to 13% in 2008
The combined share of “very positive” and “somewhat positive” responses dropped from 59% in 2001 to 50% in 2008

Citation: Gallup Poll: views about farming and agriculture, 2001-2008
Check with us by return e-note if you are interested in seeing the detailed results.

A widening view of agricultural communications research . The broad and scattered nature of research literature about agricultural communications became more apparent through a recent analysis by researchers Eric Abbott, Jennifer Scharpe and Jim Evans. They presented findings at the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) conference in Des Moines, Iowa, during June. Here is some of what they learned in examining such literature published between 2000 and 2008:

“By any measure, the literature of agricultural communication is widely scattered…” Researchers identified articles in more than 100 journals and concluded: “Databases such as Communication Abstracts, Agricola, and CABabstracts are missing most of the relevant literature.”
“The 391 articles/books/dissertations collected in the current database from 2000 to 2008 represent only a portion of the total, yet certainly demonstrate a large amount of research activity in this area.”
“The problem, and thus opportunity, is how to help network the diverse group of researchers from 132 universities/institutions who are active researchers in agricultural communications.”

Citation : Trends in agricultural communication research: 2000-2008
Contact the lead author at eabbott@iastate.edu to inquire about access to the full report.

Tainted milk in China: struggles in coverage. A report that we added recently to the ACDC collection suggested that in early 2009 “the traditional media still had not managed to investigate and report the magnitude” of allegations regarding melamine-tainted milk powder in that country. A China-based journalist, writing under the pseudonym of Robert Chang, described in the Global Journalist how government media, “netizens,” marketers, public relations firms and other parties responded. He emphasized the impact of online forums in this matter.

“Typically Chinese Internet users view cyberspace as a freer place to voice their angers, lodge complaints and expose corrupted officials,” Chang reported. He said China Internet Network Center reported in July 2008 that China has 253 million Internet users, the biggest online population in the world.

Citation: Tainted
Posted at http://www.globaljournalist.org/stories/2009/02/28/Tainted

Communicator activities approaching

September 10-12, 2009
“Shaping the future marketplace: the opportunity hunters.” Annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Information: http://www.afwa.ca

September 15-19, 2009
“Theory and practice: advisory work in a time of turbulence.” 19th European Seminar on Extension Education in Assisi, Italy.
Information: http://www.agraria.unipg.it/ESEE2009PERUGIA/index.html

October 15-18, 2009
Annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists in Houston, Texas USA.
Information: http://www.afjonline.com

November 11-13, 2009
“Connecting: 2010 and beyond.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nafb.com

Aiming to be agri-pellucid. We close this issue of ACDC News with a little spice for the menu of agricultural writers. “Pellucid” is among the words MSN Encarta insists everyone simply should know – to fertilize the vocabulary. The term describes expression that is easy to understand, clear in meaning or transparent. What fresh term(s) might we use to describe the opposite?

ACDC News – Issue 09-14

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

Paying attention to media coverage of H1N1 flu in the U. S. Here are several recent analyses of the amount and kinds of media attention devoted to the H1N1 flu:

” Media drumbeat amplifies coverage of flu outbreak ”

” Pew Study: Top U. S. papers’ swine flu coverage lacking ?”

” A fierce outbreak of swine flu coverage ”

” Media coverage: Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak 2009 ”

New IFAJ report highlights 11 uses of blogs to cover agriculture . Visit the web site of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists to see a recent review of ways in which journalists in various countries are using blogs to cover agriculture. Uses range from entertainment to hard-news coverage, and beyond. Maybe you can add to this list, from your experience.

Citation: Why and how journalists around the world are using blogs to cover agriculture
Posted at http://www.ifaj.org/news/news-detail/article/1/why-and-how.html?no_cache=1&cHash=275453a470

Campaign promotes fair trade in the United Kingdom. We have added to the ACDC collection a case report about “Fairtrade Fortnight.” The author is Barbara Crowther of the Fairtrade Foundation, a UK-based independent body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products. The 2009 Fortnight took place during late February and early March. According to this report, the 2008 campaign secured 5,300 media hits across various UK media and involved other activities such as 12,000 local events and visiting farm organization representatives from abroad.

“Our campaign reached an estimated 15 million adults, whilst retailers reported increased product sales during the Fortnight,” Crowther reported.

Citation: Fairtrade Fortnight whets consumer appetite
Posted at http://www.ipra.org/detail.asp?articleid=940

No picture without people. “Zooming zestfully: documentary on photo journalism” is a 12-minute exploration of a photojournalist’s approach to working in rural India. Freelance photographer Zishaan Latif permitted two journalism students to document him on the job.

“The human side of life” is Latif’s beat and he explains that he takes no picture without people. This report, available on YouTube, features some of his photos. You will also see how he goes about taking them.

Citation: Zooming zestfully
View the video at http://www.youtube.com > Search on “zooming zestfully”

How students gain global agri-food perspectives (plus media skills). Fifty-one University of Illinois students have been “immersed” in the European agri-food sector during the past two years. At the same time, they have learned to use a variety of communications skills. These students have done so through an International Business Immersion Program (IBIP) program with the theme: “Firm, channel and industry dynamics within the European agri-food sector.” Each year, they completed a preparatory course on campus, then an intense two-week immersion in agri-food activities throughout Europe. On the communications side, each student learned and applied skills in research reporting, interviewing, blogging, video production and article writing.

You can learn more about the program and see the trip book and photos during students’ 2008 and 2009 studies in Europe at: http://ibip.illinois.edu

Juan Valdez: updating the image of a global icon. Since 1959, a sombrero-wearing Colombian farmer, Juan Valdez, has served as “coffee ambassador to the world.” Colombia is recognized as the first South American nation to claim an association between a country and a world commodity. Recently, the image of Juan Valdez has been retooled. Reporting recently in the International Public Relations Association web site, Juan-Carlos Molleda explained steps the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia has taken since 2004. The Federation has revamped the Valdez image to one of a youthful and authentic identity through a national contest that included the active participation of real Colombian coffee growers.

Citation: Authentic passion about Colombia
Posted at http://www.ipra.org/detail.asp?articleid=976

Communicator activities approaching

August 23-27, 2009
“Worldwide trends in open access to agricultural information.” Agricultural libraries discussion group at the World Library and Information Congress of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in Milan, Italy.
Information: www.ifla.org/annual-conference/ifla75/call-agricultural-en.htm

August 26-28, 2009
“Information and communication technologies for sustainable development.” 4th World Information Technology Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Information: http://www.witfor.org

August 31-September 4, 2009
Sixth International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Held in conjunction with the International Congress on Medical Librarianship.
Information: http://www.icml2009.com/events/icahis.html

October 15-18, 2009
Annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists in Houston, Texas.
Information: http://www.afjonline.com

Precision ag sends courtship message. We close this issue of ACDC News with an example of using precision farming technologies for special kinds of communicating. Thanks to ZimmComm New Media for calling our attention to it.

You can see how a Texas crop grower recently used his GPS-based guidance system to plow the letters of his marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Lauren. She got the message when he invited her for an airplane ride that passed over the property. View the couple and the proposal message at:

http://www.precisionpays.com/2009/05/marriage-proposal-thanks-to-precision-ag-tools

ACDC News – Issue 09-13

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

“Swine flu coverage around the world” is the title of a report we added recently to the ACDC collection from the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) of the Pew Research Center. During April and May 2009, PEJ studied 12 days of front-page newspaper coverage in seven countries and the top three Spanish-language papers in the U. S. Findings “revealed noticeable differences in attention, prominence and how the papers chose to frame stories.”

For example, the number of cases of this flu in a given country had little to do with the volume of newspaper coverage.

Citation: Swine flu coverage around the world
Posted at http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/Swine_Flu_Coverage_around_the_World

Trends in U.S. public attitudes to laws about treatment of farm animals . Here are some Gallup Poll survey data we assembled recently about comparative public attitudes in 2003 and 2008. The question in these national surveys among U. S. adults invited opinions about “passing strict laws concerning the treatment of farm animals.” Findings from the two surveys:

	May 2003 Survey	May 2008 Survey
Strongly support	35%	29%
Somewhat support	29%	33%
Somewhat oppose	20%	21%
Strongly oppose	13%	14%
Don’t know	3%	3%

Citation: Gallup Poll: views about passing strict laws concerning the treatment of farm animals

Pay closer attention to the rural, the poor. In a video we reviewed recently via YouTube, an honored journalist argues for media to pay closer attention to rural people, activities and issues. A 10-minute video, “P. Sainath on Indian media,” features comments by P. Sainath Palagummi Sainath. He is 2007 recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism Literature and Creative Communication Arts.

Sainath observed that national media in his country assign no journalists to cover poverty and the poor, maintain no “rural” or “labor” beats. He offered reasons for this gap and challenged media to signal the weaknesses in society as well as highlight progress.

Whereas Sainath focused on media coverage in India, his thoughts and concerns resonate with those in any nation who are interested in effective communications in support of sustainable rural development.

Citation: P. Sainath on Indian media
View this video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewCqpgBiuw

“Emerging issues in the U. S. organic industry.” That is the title of a new economic information bulletin (June 2009) from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Rapid growth in consumption of “organic” and “natural” products has led to varied issues, including some related to communications. Among those cited in the bulletin:

Consumer sensitivity to the price premium paid for such products, especially during the current economic slowdown.
“The low organic adoption rate for grain crops continues to be a bottleneck for expansion of the U. S. organic livestock sector.”
Organic producers face competition from new labels, such as the “locally grown” label.

Posted at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB55

Confusion on the “fat” front. Consumer search in the United Kingdom during late 2008 indicated that shoppers are unclear as to what saturated fat is and are confused by the different terms currently used to describe it. Sample terms:

Sat fat
Fat – of which saturates
Saturated fat
Saturates

“Only 30% of the 1,000 people interviewed recognized that “saturated fat” meant the same as “saturates. … A further 30% did not know what the term meant at all, 15% thought it was the same as fat in general and 7% believed saturated fat was the same as calories.” This research was commissioned by IGD, United Kingdom.

Citation: IGD develops guidelines for consumer communication
Posted at: www.igd.com > Media Centre

Plenty more mid-year communicator activities

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), Agri Council of America Business Media, Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) and the International Association of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT).
Information: www.agmediasummit.org

August 23-27, 2009
“Worldwide trends in open access to agricultural information.” Agricultural libraries discussion group at the World Library and Information Congress, Milan, Italy.
Information: http://www.ifla.org/annual-conference/ifla75/call-agricultural-en.htm

August 26-28, 2009
“Information and communication technologies for sustainable development.” 4th World IT Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Information: http://iaald.blogspot.com/2008/11/world-it-forum-2009.html

Honored agricultural spy fiction. You read that correctly. And you may recognize it as the lead-in to another honored entry in the latest Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. We close this issue of ACDC News with the runner-up entry in the “Spy Fiction” category of this international literary parody contest hosted by the Department of English and Comparative Literature, San Jose State University. Entrants were challenged to submit bad opening sentences to imaginary novels. Here’s the food-oriented runner-up entry from David Potter, Nagoya, Japan:

“The KGB agent known only as the Spider, milk solids oozing from his mouth and nose, surveyed the spreading wound in his abdomen caused by the crushing blow of the low but deadly hassock and begged of his attacker to explain why she had gone to the trouble of feeding him tainted milk products before effecting his assassination with such an inferior object as this ottoman, only to hear in his dying moments an escaping Miss Muffet of the MI-5 whisper, “It is my whey.”

ACDC News – Issue 09-12

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

Seven new research reports from ACE conference . These reports were presented recently to the Research Special Interest Group during an Association of Communication Excellence (ACE) conference in Des Moines, Iowa. You can read the abstracts here. Check with the authors about gaining access to full-text reports.

Katie M. Abrams and Courtney A. Meyers, ” Comparison of persuasive message factors and frames in animal agriculture communication campaigns on the Web ”

Karen J. Cannon and Tracy Irani, ” Framing foot and mouth disease coverage of the 2001 and 2007 outbreaks in the United Kingdom ”

Leslie D. Edgar and Tracy Rutherford, ” Comparing previous research in agricultural communications to the National Research Agenda: Agricultural Education and Communication, 2007-2010 ”

Kelsey Hall and Emily Rhoades, ” Influence of subjective norms and communication preferences on grain farmers’ attitudes toward organic and non-organic farming ”

Lisa Hightower, Hannah Carter, Rochelle Strickland and Karen Cannon, ” Communicating agricultural leadership through mobile technology ”

Courtney A. Meyers and Tracy Irani, ” The agriculture angle: effect of framing agricultural biotechnology messages on attitudes toward argument quality ”

Judith McIntosh White and Tracy Rutherford, ” Impact of reporter beat assignment on source selection: implications for journalism education ”

Rural broadband access is not enough. Current discussions about broadband service for rural areas need to move beyond the focus on access, according to a commentary we added recently to the ACDC collection. Joe Dales of Farms.com Professional Services suggested these goals be included:

User computer training
Internet training
Development of relevant broadband business applications

“It can be argued that there is little economic value to society in developing a global leading edge broadband delivery network if its primary use is to download games or videos for rural children.”

Citation: Rural broadband – an important platform
Posted at http://www.professional.farms.com/cms/en/RuralBroadband.aspx

How to cover rural-urban relations . A new professional development feature on the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) web site offers skills and approaches reporters can use to cover rural-urban issues. This is the fourth in a series about rural-urban communicating. Authors Jim Evans, University of Illinois, and Owen Roberts, University of Guelph, described three types of rural-urban media coverage:

Filling gaps in rural-urban understanding
Covering rural-urban interests in conflict
Covering rural-urban inequities and imbalances

Then they identified skills, tools and perspectives reporters can use with each.

Posted at http://www.ifaj.org > Breaking News section

Part 4. Preparing agricultural journalists/communicators for the 21st Century.

Here are suggestions from Bob Kern, past president and Professional Award recipient of the Association for Communication Excellence, about how to design an undergraduate agricultural journalism/communications program for the 21st Century:

“Writing is the primary communications skill – and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”
“Within agriculture, schooling should include input/output economics, policy-development process, and U.S. production and marketing within world agriculture.”
“Communications teaching should be based on applicable communications theory, emphasizing that which is research-based.”

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

Thanks to all who contributed to this series. We also invite your thoughts and suggestions about how to prepare agricultural journalists/communicators for the 21st Century.

Karlie

Welcome to a new ACDC staff associate .

We extend a special welcome to Karlie Elliott who joined the ACDC staff during May following her graduation from the agricultural communications program here, with a news-editorial emphasis. She is helping search for documents, review them and process them into the collection. This fall she will enter the masters degree program in the Department of Advertising here at the University of Illinois.

Karlie brings a great combination of skills and interests to the Center. Farm-raised in east-central Illinois, she enjoys and appreciates the full range of activities related to food and agriculture, internationally. Her undergraduate program has involved study in Latin America and Europe. She has gained communications and leadership experience through internships with Caterpillar Inc. and the Office of Communications, U. S. Department of Agriculture. On campus, she has served as president of the College of ACES Council and of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) student organization, among other activities. As a junior she was recognized as Robert Harrison Outstanding Junior Leader of the College of ACES. Recently she received the Warren K. Wessels Achievement Award as outstanding senior in the College.

Plenty more mid-year communicator activities

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

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