August sees High Media Coverage of Illinois State Fair, IALR Candidate Forum

August kicked off with a hot start with Illinois Farm Bureau participating in and assisting with coordinating mainstream media attention for Illinois State Fair Ag Day and the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable (IALR) candidate forum. Please note that both the State Fair and IALR events were collaborations with multiple agricultural entities and organizations. However, Illinois Farm Bureau assisted in coordinating media attention and frequently pitches media coverage for various topics and events. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, IFB fielded 52 interview requests from print/online, broadcast and TV reporters, generating 404 mentions and potentially reaching 132.5 million people, which had an advertisement value equivalency (AVE) of around $1.2 million.

For comparison, IFB facilitated 29 media interviews in August 2021, which yielded 361 news placements and potentially reaching 125.7 million people, an estimated AVE of $1.16 million.

It is important to note that of the 52 interview requests, 31 were the result of media pitches in which IFB staff assisted in facilitating news coverage of two major events: Illinois State Fair Ag Day (12) and the IALR candidate forum (19). In addition to event coverage, media inquiries ranged in topic, including questions about the Illinois Farm to Food Bank program/Illinois Farm Bureau’s partnership with MarketMaker to create the new Donations and Discounts buy-sell forum. Election coverage is starting to pick up, as seen with the heavy coverage of the IALR candidate forum and ACTIVATOR candidate endorsements. Illinois Farm Bureau will continue to monitor this interest heading into the upcoming election season.

August Top Reach, Syndication, and Social Echo

August was a busy month for earned media coverage, with articles covering a range of topics including the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, the Farm to Food Bank program, Illinois State Fair, and the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable candidate forum. Multiple articles had audience reach in the millions, the highest being 36.4 million people. Many articles had high syndication levels, which refers to how many news channels share the same article across platforms. Several articles also had high social echo, which refers to articles or broadcasts that had the highest engagement on social media.

Highest Reach

“How to fix food supply chains? Make them more local” – This Bloomberg article features an interview with Raghela Scavuzzo, IFB associate director of food systems, and highlights the Farm to Food Bank project. The article had an estimated reach of 36.4 million people and is the article with the highest reach for the month of August.
“Pritzker, Baily addresses energy, Chicago, jobs at forum” – This Center Square article on the IL Agricultural Legislative Roundtable appeared in a Patch.com news digest report recapping the candidate forum. Of the articles published on the roundtable event, the Patch.com digest report had the highest reach of 13 million people.

Most Syndicated

“CAPITOL RECAP: Pritzker, Bailey make pitch to farmers” – This article originated on Capitol News Illinois and covers the gubernatorial candidates who participated in the recent Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable. The article was the most syndicated for the month of August and shared by 56 publications for a total reach of 7.4 million people.

Top Social Echo

“How to fix food supply chains? Make them more local” – Was also the article with the highest reach on social media. The Bloomberg journalist Amy Yee shared the article several times on Twitter, breaking down the issue in bit sized pieces for social media users. She also gave a shout out to Raghela Scavuzzo, IFB associate director of food systems. The article had the top social echo for the month of August with 87 tweets/retweets on Twitter, 1 share on Reddit, and a total of 178 Facebook interactions (combined posts, likes, and comments).
“Fact check: Working families pay more under Pritzker” – This article from the Illinois Policy Institute references comments made during the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable candidate forum. The article had the top social echo for articles mentioning the IALR with 126 tweets/retweets on Twitter and 63 Facebook interactions (combined posts, likes, and comments).