I had a very enjoyable lunch today with my good friend Derry Brownfield. I know a lot of you know of Derry. He’s that farm broadcaster who is rude, crude, obnoxious, politically incorrect . . . (self description). I worked with Derry for almost 10 years and we covered a lot of miles together. Derry is still hosting his daily …
Indiana Family Farms Debuts
Gary Truitt, Hoosier Ag Today, has unveiled a new ZimmComm-designed website called Indiana Family Farms. Consumers today are interested in knowing more about how their food is produced. Environmental, safety, and welfare issues are figuring more and more in consumer buying decisions. Yet, most Americans know very little about how their food is produced or the men and women who …
State of Barbeque Industry
The first day of Spring gets the outdoor griller’s heart all pumped up. Many of us are “year-rounders” but it is nice to have warmer temperatures. The Hearth, Patio & Barbeque Association has released their annual State of the Barbeque Industry Report which you can read below. I also thought I’d point you to a company I recently became familiar …
The Ag Network
I got an update from John Jenkinson about his jump starting The Ag Network next month. So keep an eye out for him since it looks like we’ll be seeing him out and about. The first official full day of programming will be April 6th. We currently have affiliates in Colorado and Oklahoma, and we are in negotiations with more …
Three Lessons for Renewables Communicators
From “Darling to Devil” in the blink of an eye – that’s what happened to the biofuels industry in the past year or so – but better communications on the part of the industry could have helped with the damage control and could still help repair some of the damage done. What’s more, the damage done to biofuels could also …
Fastline Promotes Joe McWilliams To President
Fastline Publications has promoted Joe McWilliams from VP, Sales and Marketing to President. The former President and founder of Fastline Publications, Bill Howard, will continue his role as CEO of the company. McWilliams began his career at Fastline as a National Sales Manager in the farm and truck divisions. He has been with the company for 13 years. “This promotion …
Media Room Guidelines
There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the media room of today should be configured and managed. I just thought I’d throw out some ideas to help move the conversation along. These are some random thoughts I had on the drive to the airport this morning. I’ve been in more media rooms than I can count with all …
2009 CCA Institute In Kansas City
The Cooperative Communicators Association will be meeting in Kansas City in June. You can download the program here (pdf). Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) is an organization of 350 professionals who communicate for cooperatives. Our organization is unique in both its mission and membership. We work toward helping members excel in communications – from writing, photography, and editing to video, layout, …
American Society of Newspaper Editors Cancels Convention
I think it’s a sign of the times. Some might says it’s because of the economy. I don’t. The media has changed and it’s not going to change back to the way it was. Thanks to a heads up from Steve Drake, Drake & Company, I learned that the American Society of Newspaper Editors has canceled their 2009 Convention. Here …
Monsanto Future Ag Journalist Fellowship Winners
This afternoon I finally got to meet the Monsanto Future Ag Journalist Fellowship winners. Brooke Hoelscher (r) and Megan Ott (l) were escorted to my work station in the media room at Commodity Classic. Apparently they weren’t allowed access to the media room even though they had media badges. These students will someday possibly be professional ag journalists and part …