Earned Media Update

I-55 Dust Storm, California Prop 12, and Sackett v. EPA Ruling Dominate May News Cycle:

Each month, Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) facilitates media interviews with mainstream news channels on a variety of agricultural topics. Subsequent interviews are monitored and measured based on the number of media placements, potential audience reach, and advertisement value equivalency (AVE) to provide insight into the volume and reach of IFB’s messaging as a top news source for Illinois agriculture. Continuing past month trends, IFB maintained a steady pace of media requests in April. Major topics in May included the I-55 dust storm, the SCOTUS California Prop 12 and Sackett v. EPA rulings, nutrient stewardship field days and climate/weather changes.

From May 1 through May 31, 2023, IFB field 25 interview requests from print/online publications, radio and TV news outlets, generating 212 news placements and potentially reaching 113.46 million people, which had an advertisement value equivalency (AVE) of around $1 million.

For comparison, in May 2022, IFB facilitated 21 media interviews, which yielded 585 placements and potentially reached around 197.78 million people, an estimated AVE of $1.8 million.

While audience reach trended lower over the previous year, it is important to remember that 2022 had several outlier events generating high media coverage. Last May, President Joe Biden visited a Kankakee farm, which garnered significant media attention. Other media themes in May 2022 included the Russian-Ukraine war and fertilizer prices.

IFB remains a top source for agriculture news. We continue to work with national, state and local news outlets on a variety of topics. To keep up with the latest news media coverage featuring IFB farm members, visit IFB’s “In the News” webpage. The webpage can be accessed under the “Resources” tab at www.ilfb.org. To check out the latest media coverage, visit: www.ilfb.org/in-the-news/.

Several central Illinois Farmers were featured recently in news features on several topics in May, including California’s Proposition 12, ripple effects of the Ukraine-Russia war, spring planting, and weather and climate. IFB launched the ‘In the News’ webpage to highlight recent media coverage and thank farmers who take time out of their busy schedules to speak with members of the news media.

In mid-May, Bureau County farmer Michael Ganschow and IFB Director of Environmental Policy Lauren Lurkins joined award-winning PBS correspondent Miles O'brien in a recent PBS NewsHour on agriculture, water, and climate. The NewsHour live streamed from the University of Illinois and featured several panelists, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Cynthia Rosensweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Sarah Garland of the Triple Helix Institute and Andrew Margenot of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

IFB's recently produced documentary "Sustaining Our Future: A Farm Family Story" was featured in the segment, including interviews with the Ganschow family. The segment featuring the documentary and live conversations with Michael Ganschow and Lauren Lurkins begin at timestamp [43:33]. The full segment is viewable on the PBS YouTube page.

March Top Reach, Syndication, and Social Echo

March was a busy month for earned media coverage. Several articles had exceptional potential audience reach, the highest being 41.5 million. Many articles had high syndication levels, which refers to how many news channels share the same article across platforms. A few articles achieved high social echo, which refers to articles or broadcasts that had high engagement on social media.

Highest Reach

“What’s next now that Title 42 has expired?” – This NBC News segment on the expiration of Title 42 includes a section from a press conference with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who references conversations with IFB representatives on immigration and workforce development. Durbin states that the “Illinois Farm Bureau has been begging for help for workers,” and that farmers “need workers, immigrant workers on the orchards, on the dairy farms and the regular farm operations.” The article had a potential audience reach of 41.5 million.

Most Syndicated

“Environmental bills seek to improve soil health, ban state use of polystyrene foam containers” – This article originated from Capitol News Illinois and was picked up by several newspapers. The article discussed Senate Bill 1701, which creates a structure for the state to assess soil health through the Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative. Illinois Farm Bureau supported the bill.

Top Social Echo

“How is climate change affecting farming?” – Illinois Farm Bureau and farmer Michael Ganschow participated in in a recent PBS NewsHour on agriculture, water, and climate. The event gathered questions from consumers across the country and featured segments of IFB’s documentary “Sustaining Our Future: A Farm Family Story.” This article ahead of the event had the highest social echo with 371 Facebook interactions (likes, comments, shares) and 124 Twitter interactions (tweets, quote retweets, likes, comments). The full PBS NewsHour can be viewed here.

For additional information or questions, please contact IFB Media Relations Specialist Sierra Henry at shenry@ilfb.org or Director of Issue Management DeAnne Bloomberg at dbloomberg@ilfb.org.