Help or Hinder? How Media Portrays Farming to the Public

Studies prove that effective agricultural communication and rigorous, balanced journalism are not mutually exclusive. This should motivate farmers to engage with the media; and encourage journalists to take a constructive and open-minded approach to agricultural stories.

How much coverage does agriculture receive from main stream media?. Is this somehow irrelevant? This has become far more an exploration of tone and perception, the angles journalists take, the questions they ask and how farmers respond, under pressure, to scrutiny and challenge. Worryingly there are problems on both sides of this divide, there is a deep disconnection between conventional agriculture and the metropolitan news media.

The job of journalists is to give readers, viewers and listeners the best obtainable version of the truth, balanced and impartial information and to clearly signpost the difference between fact and opinion. News media has been unconsciously reinforcing stereotypes and naively swallowing preconceived ideas about modern agriculture, driven, by urban bias, a lack of specialism and a lack of curiosity about rural life. However there is a growing appetite for rural affairs features and documentaries, particularly on radio and television. Farming is trending.

Some unhelpful attitudes within the farming industry are shocking.An inward-looking snobbery about the perceived cluelessness of the mainstream media, a lack of transparency on key issues of public interest, disproportionate defensiveness in the face of legitimate challenge and a tendency to ‘shoot the messenger’ instead of taking a long, hard look at itself and the way it communicates with the public. Farmers have played the victim for too long, complaining of attacks on their industry when they should be rising to the challenge, opening doors, building relationships and championing their point of view.

There are too few farmers and journalists who have a foot in both urban and rural life; who can see, without prejudice or preconception, the frustrations on both sides. This should fill them with determination and passion to build a bridge; to challenge both the media and the farming industry to walk in each other’s shoes.

The world’s media has never been more powerful – or less trusted.

Its role in shaping the outcomes of the EU referendum and US presidential election of 2016 cannot be overestimated. The spread of ‘fake news’, an unfamiliar phenomenon has been deemed a threat to democracy.

Yet farming, with an uncertain future arguably needs the media more than ever before. It has some convincing to do – that agriculture is worthy of public money; that consumers should shun foreign labels and choose national instead; that the environment is safe in farmers’ hands.

Exploring how the mainstream media can ‘help or hinder’ that mission – and what lessons can be learned from around the world – forms the basis of this report. Farmers often complain of a ‘disconnect’ between themselves and urban people and blame negative or simply non-existent media coverage. But traditional media, in the face of shrinking resources and shortening attention spans, is fighting for survival in a ruthlessly competitive digital landscape. It must target audiences with content that is relevant to their everyday lives. The vast majority of that audience – more than 80% of the population are urbanised

How relevant is agriculture to them?

Studies confirm that the ‘disconnect’ is real, more so in urbanised societies, and both the industry and media have a role to play in it. Urban bias is endemic within the mainstream media. This can spill over into bias against intensive and large-scale farming systems, driven, at times, more by stereotypes and ideology than informed understanding of the subject. There is no evidence of urban bias leading to deliberate falsehoods, but it can influence story selection and the way in which a story is told (i.e. the angle).

There is deep-rooted suspicion of the mainstream media among farmers. Many believe journalists attack them unfairly on issues like the environment and animal welfare, but some farmers struggle to separate criticism from legitimate challenge. Knee-jerk defensiveness and a lack of transparency are key barriers to a constructive relationship with the media.

These challenges are not insurmountable. The case studies shared prove that effective agricultural communication and rigorous, balanced journalism are not mutually exclusive. These findings should motivate farmers to engage with the media; and encourage journalists to take a constructive and open-minded approach to agricultural stories.

This is not a quantitative study of media content, but a qualitative analysis of perceptions and personal experience. ‘Agriculture’ in this context refers mainly to conventional production and the term ‘mainstream media’ to national press and news broadcasters, with some regional and specialist contributions. This is not a study of social media. The urban/rural disconnect is real, more so in Western and urbanised societies, and both the media and farming industry are contributing to it. While ‘rural affairs’ is a growing genre, agricultural specialism in the mainstream media remains incredibly rare.

Urban bias is endemic. This can lead to farming and rural issues being ignored, oversimplified or viewed purely from a metrocentric angle. Healthy journalistic scepticism can cross the line into ideological bias against conventional, intensive or large-scale farming systems.

Farmers and the industry are fuelling the disconnect through a lack of openness and transparency, disproportionate defensiveness in the face of legitimate challenge, disunity among farming sectors and a sense of ‘exceptionalism’ or entitlement to positive coverage.

Taken in a global context and in spite of urban bias, farming receives a fair amount of media coverage, relative to the industry’s size. Programmes like Country file, which have broadened the appeal of farming to huge audiences, are doing the industry a valuable service.

Finally, the public narrative around agriculture is being dominated by farming unions and lobbyists. Politics at an industry level is drowning out individuals at a farm level, contributing to more distrust in the mainstream media.

This has something, a mission to set up a network of independent, trusted and diverse on-farm communicators. This is a new and original concept for British farming; and an exciting challenge. These have been structured for two key stakeholders who have equal influence and a shared responsibility in shaping the story of what farming is, what farming does and where farming is going.

For Farmers:

• Farmers must get better at talking to journalists and the mainstream media. Challenge is not criticism, questions are not attacks. Fight the red mist and learn to embrace scrutiny by acknowledging, and responding to, the views of those who think differently.
• Increased openness and transparency. Particularly around controversial subjects like intensive production. Access to farms is absolutely essential in order to bridge the urban/rural disconnect. Attempts to keep journalists in the dark about the realities of modern food production are doomed to fail. Farmers must be prepared to not only defend, but champion their production systems. If they don’t believe in them, no one else will.

A diverse network of independent farmers. Work with the industry to develop an inclusive network of free-thinking farmers, from across all agricultural sectors and systems, willing to speak openly to journalists with passion and without politics. Providing personal, ‘on the ground’ testimony on topical issues without pushing an industry agenda or denigrating other farming systems.

For the Media:
Journalism with integrity. If farms and agribusiness are to open their doors, they must be able to trust the media to deliver constructive journalism. While continuing to report the problems in agriculture, editors and programme makers have a duty to report solutions too. Adopting Ulrik Haagerup’s ‘third pillar of journalism’ (solutions-based stories) would be a step forward for news culture.

Urban bias. Tackle urban bias by challenging metro-centric stereotypes about farming and rural life. Cultivate curiosity - not preconceptions - about all farming systems. Facilitate specialism in rural affairs. Differentiate between campaigners and informers.

Inspire passion for rural affairs. It’s time to generate interest in agriculture and rural life among young, trainee journalists by speaking to urban schools, colleges and universities. Established and respected journalists would be of enormous help in this mission. Journalists who have made a career out of rural affairs specialism must share the passion and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.