My Time at the 2018 Banff Pork Seminar

I had the pleasure of presenting to 750 delegates at the 2018 Banff Pork Seminar this week. Pork industry representatives from around the world gathered to hear experts discuss genetics, antibiotics, futures - you name it.  Canadian pork supports our agricultural economy and is a key export.  

As keynote speaker, my presentation was less high-brow. I pulled back the media curtain to reveal  how news is made, manipulated, and managed. You see, when media report on the pork industry, it’s usually for a bad news story, like an animal welfare issue.

My 45-minute talk offered strategies to frame the media narrative, especially when public trust is at stake. Special thanks to Ben Woolley for volunteering to be interviewed in front of hundreds of people. Ben did great! 30 minutes after conducting Ben’s interview, my colleague Richard Maxwell  turned the interview into a radio news story.  The audience had opportunity to witness the interview and moments later, hear the precise news story that resulted.  As always, Richard’s rapid turn-around radio report blew the audience away.