The trust of rural folks
needs to be earned
The politicized culture
in some newsrooms reinforces an urban-rural divide.
Tim Hearden | Jun 17,
2020
Last December I had the
opportunity to join Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen, grower Joe Del
Bosque and a reporter from a small weekly newspaper in the San Joaquin Valley
in a panel discussion of news coverage of agriculture.
The luncheon panel was
hosted by the California Press Foundation, an arm of the California News
Publishers Association, as the final presentation in the organization’s annual
two-day conference at San Francisco’s ornate Marine’s Memorial Club.
Related: Recent flap
highlights importance of ag media
On our panel, the
audience – which consisted largely of newspaper publishers and other executives
– sought our opinions as to how they could regain the trust of rural readers
they’d lost amid the circulation declines of recent years. That’s been a
favorite topic of mine for a couple of decades, as anyone who used to work with
me at daily newspapers can attest.
The foundation put on a
top-notch event, and I was honored to receive the invitation. I know my fellow
panelists were, too.
Related: Pork producers
battle 'fake meat', '60 Minutes'
At the same time, the
gathering had an eerie quality as a relic of the past, much like the
74-year-old hotel and museum that housed it. The group has been meeting for
over 140 years, but it wouldn’t have been too far-fetched to wonder if they’ll make
it to 150.
It moved to Marines’
Memorial from a larger venue several years ago, and in 2018 its attendees
filled a banquet room. But in December that same room was less than half full,
and the organizers put up curtain partitions to make it a little less
cavernous. The average age in the room was about on par with that of farmers,
except you didn’t get the impression that younger generations were waiting to
take over when dad or mom retires.
There are lots of
reasons why the newspaper industry has declined so precipitously over the last
few decades, with the proliferation of online news sources (including social
media) perhaps the biggest. But another big one, according to surveys, is loss
of trust in media generally. In my view, many news outlets have willingly ceded
the trust and loyalty of half the population, and the half they forfeited
consists largely of rural folks.
How have they done this?
By enabling a politicized newsroom culture that reinforces an urban-rural
divide. As just one example, amid the coronavirus shutdowns, one major
California newspaper used cell phone records to name and shame the rural
counties where people weren’t staying at home. Though the reason was that many
were working in agriculture – an essential business – the reporter took to
social media to chide rural folks for not believing in science.
In San Francisco, I and
others encouraged the publishers to cover ag and rural issues consistently,
learn about the issues and develop relationships with people. I resisted the
urge to repeat what a peach grower once told me when I asked if he had advice
for others.
“Give it up,” he said,
“and buy from me.”
National Latino
Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
1029 Vermont
Avenue, NW, Suite 601
Washington, DC
20005
Office: (202)
628-8833
Fax No.: (202)
393-1816
Email: latinofarmers@live.com
Twitter: @NLFRTA
Website: www.NLFRTA.org
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