What’s the story with our industry and the media?

Comment Brian Henderson

It might sound a bit like sacrilege because I know it has a wide-ranging and devoted following, but I have to admit I’ve never been a huge fan of the BBC’S Countryfile.

In fact the show is probably up there with Strictly in that the theme tune instantly finds me mentally scrabbling for some important piece of work which urgently requires attention in my office – at the other end of our draughty, but thankfully thick-walled, farmhouse.

But while I’m keen to miss out on Countryfile’s mix of soft and cuddly stories and the urban slant taken on the occasional foray into real stories, I always leave instructions to be called back when the week’s weather forecast comes on.

While I sometimes worried that I might be on my own in my opinion of the programme, a quick look through some of the views expressed in online farming forums showed that my opinion might actually be somewhat mild.

So, with my prejudices reinforced, it came as a surprise to chance upon a recently published Nuffield Scholarship paper which turned out to be by one of the programme’s producers.

Stepping well outside the cosy confines of Countryfile, in her scholar’s report Anna Jones conducts a non-partisan assessment of farming’s relationship with the mainstream media on a national and international level – and takes a pretty fair look at both sides of this issue, highlighting a number of relevant points.

While it’s not stated in so many words, I guess

0 Ellie Harrison on BBC2’S Countryfile it’s difficult to argue with the underlying message that the farming industry has got a bit of a chip on its shoulder about its portrayal outside the farming press and generally feels that it doesn’t get nearly as much coverage as it deserves and, when it does get airtime or coverage in the main news section of the daily papers, it is inevitably negative or biased.

On the other side of the coin, some of the national news and papers often have a bias against running good news stories, with the media preferring to highlight tales of doom, gloom andhorror– followingthe journalistic maxim “It has to bleed to lead” .

Jones points out that journalists often take the easy route when investigating a story by simply contacting the main lobbying organisations who have a particular line to push.

This approach tends to see a representative from the NFU pitched against an environmental or animal welfare activist, again from one of the major lobbying groups, leaving those without an axe to grind without a voice.

And there’s probably some truth in the assertion that a deal of the mainstream coverage at a national level is clouded by urban bias, kneejerk distrust of agribusiness, a failing to differentiate between campaigners and informers and this overreliance on too few sources which have an overt political agenda.

But until recently the farming industry probably hasn’t been helping the situation much – often through a lack of openness and transparency, disproportionate defensiveness in the face of legitimate challenge, disunity among farming sectors and the aforementioned feeling of entitlement to positive coverage.

The problem is often compounded by a lack of understanding of farming complexities among general news journalists who want to present the sort of swift and simple storyline to which our industry is particularly ill suited.

But we’re not alone in that – and I’d be pretty sure that many other sectors probably feel that news reports are simplified beyond telling the true story.

However,farmingdoesn’t do too badly – and few other businesses have their own section in most of the quality newspapers and programmes devoted to them on national TV and radio.

As one of the presenters of Radio 4’s farming programme pointed out, there’s no Plumbing Today on the radio.

But as far as Countryfile is concerned – and despite its flaws – maybe we should just be thankful that the thin farming thread running through it reminds the wider population that we’re still here.

And, as they always say, if you don’t like it, there’s always the “off ” button.

Just remember to turn it back on for the weather!