This Reminds Me Of Our Local MSM: Media’s Ignorance Of Farming [Opinion]

Those of you who read my February editorial know that many years ago I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. I spent time on the business beat, and because the newspaper was located where a wide range of produce was grown, I naturally wrote a lot of stories about fruits and vegetables.

The majority of the editors at the newspaper were from urban areas, which I think was the reason they often either had a tough time grasping these stories, or thought I was biased toward growers. I’m sure you know what I mean, they thought agriculture used way too much of California’s limited water supply, or that farmers used too many pesticides, etc.

Because of that, I sighed long and hard upon reading a recent Associated Press story that slams the state’s growers. That’s why I felt like standing up and applauding a recent story by Cory Lunde, Director, Strategic Initiatives & Communications for Western Growers.

Lunde’s opening line, or ‘lede’ as it’s called in the business, is classic: “Most news reporters don’t know squat about the business of farming, and thanks to a pervasive bias, they don’t care. That is the obvious conclusion one would reach after reading a recent Associated Press article that opens with this not-so-subtle lede: ‘A new state report shows California farmers reaping record sales despite the epic drought, thriving even as city-dwellers have been forced to conserve water, household wells have run dry and fish have died.’”

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