:00:00. > :00:08.We look at the future of farming, with radical changes to financial
:00:09. > :00:13.The Children?s Commissioner for Wales completes his seven year term.
:00:14. > :00:16.We ask him what changes he think are needed.
:00:17. > :00:18.And separating news from public relations.
:00:19. > :00:21.Is the spread of PR damaging our ability to
:00:22. > :00:36.Good evening and welcome to the Wales Report,
:00:37. > :00:40.On tonight?s programme, we talk about farming.
:00:41. > :00:43.The industry is worth ?150 million a year to the Welsh economy
:00:44. > :00:46.and around 60,000 people depend on it for their livelihoods.
:00:47. > :00:50.It?s a big employer but it?s a way of life too, with very deep
:00:51. > :00:55.The problem is that those livelihoods are affected
:00:56. > :00:57.by big changes to the agricultural subsidies paid
:00:58. > :01:02.The Welsh Government is responsible for distributing the European money,
:01:03. > :01:06.but it?s accused of accelerating the impact of cuts in subsidies
:01:07. > :01:08.by making changes to the payment system, which means farmers will
:01:09. > :01:14.We?ll be talking to Minister for Natural Resources and Food,
:01:15. > :01:19.But first Helen Callaghan looks at what the future could hold
:01:20. > :01:33.Farming in Wales has always been a family affair with the skills and
:01:34. > :01:37.knowledge needed to farm the harshest areas passed down from
:01:38. > :01:44.generation to generation. It's a way of life that persists in 2014 but in
:01:45. > :01:54.many cases this is only made possible by European subsidies. But
:01:55. > :02:02.as those subsidies across Europe begin to decline Welsh agriculture
:02:03. > :02:08.could be entering a new reality. Farmer could be replaced by Herd
:02:09. > :02:13.manager. This mega- Dearie near Carmarthen is among the largest in
:02:14. > :02:20.the UK and currently has 2000 cows and produces around 60,000 litres of
:02:21. > :02:25.milk daily. To increase efficiency cows are housed indoors and milked
:02:26. > :02:28.three times a day. Farming is though different to any of the business. We
:02:29. > :02:37.have to be commercially viable. 60 odd years ago we had subsidies and
:02:38. > :02:40.time has moved on. Time could be moving on to quickly for some. John
:02:41. > :02:45.Davies has been running this sheep and beef farm to 25 years and thinks
:02:46. > :02:55.his way of life and his community are at risk. Nice to meet you. I
:02:56. > :02:59.honestly love this job and I love our community. We have a lot of
:03:00. > :03:04.young people involved and it is a vibrant area to live in. I don't
:03:05. > :03:08.want to lose that. There are many areas in Wales under threat in the
:03:09. > :03:13.future. It is argued that many of Wales' farms only survived because
:03:14. > :03:16.of high levels of subsidy from Europe. Especially in difficult
:03:17. > :03:22.upland areas. The Common Agricultural Policy contributes over
:03:23. > :03:27.?300 million a year to Wales' rural communities. This budget is falling.
:03:28. > :03:31.According to the Minister for natural resources and food, Alun
:03:32. > :03:36.Davies, we can expect more productions when it is reformed
:03:37. > :03:41.again in 2020. Welsh agriculture needs to be prepared to run on a
:03:42. > :03:47.more commercial basis. If we constantly and only and uniquely
:03:48. > :03:54.rely upon a payment system that is declining in value in real terms,
:03:55. > :03:59.many farms in Wales will not be viable in the future. There are
:04:00. > :04:03.concerns that this low subsidy future is being brought to bear on
:04:04. > :04:10.Welsh agriculture sooner than it is on the rest of the UK and Europe.
:04:11. > :04:13.Alun Davies has chosen to move 15% of direct payments to farmers into
:04:14. > :04:19.another funding part, whether that can be used to support the wider
:04:20. > :04:26.rural economy. It's the maximum amount he is allowed to move and he
:04:27. > :04:31.drew -- under EU rules. It is a disadvantage because the cat is
:04:32. > :04:37.bigger and quicker but now we need to make sure that we get that back.
:04:38. > :04:41.We must not lose that. Farmers right across Wales are having to find new
:04:42. > :04:47.efficiencies and ways of diversifying their incomes and those
:04:48. > :04:52.who want or can't become more commercially viable are likely to
:04:53. > :04:59.have a very difficult future. That is according to the expert in rural
:05:00. > :05:01.economic. Farmers have known for a long time that subsidies are not
:05:02. > :05:06.going to be here forever. The smarter ones and the ones with the
:05:07. > :05:14.opportunity to diversify their businesses and moved into areas
:05:15. > :05:18.unrelated to farming. We are a thing of the difficulty in adjustment will
:05:19. > :05:24.be is where farms have little opportunity to diversify. They are
:05:25. > :05:32.far away, in remote locations so they can't gain access to employment
:05:33. > :05:37.or market opportunities in towns. So with traditional farming practices
:05:38. > :05:44.under increasing pressure are intensive measures going to be the
:05:45. > :05:49.norm? I don't think this is the only way that fits. As long as you are in
:05:50. > :05:51.control of your cost of production I don't really think it makes a
:05:52. > :06:01.difference what type of farming you do. This is one solution but there
:06:02. > :06:05.are others. Whatever shape Welsh agriculture takes in the future,
:06:06. > :06:10.farmers like John Davies are advising caution or the iconic image
:06:11. > :06:15.of the Welsh sheep farmer could be consigned to history. I believe
:06:16. > :06:19.generations of hard work are under threat and it's important we don't
:06:20. > :06:25.lose these core skills. They are under threat in many areas. We are
:06:26. > :06:31.talking about community, the language and the whole culture. When
:06:32. > :06:37.the Common Agricultural Policy is reformed again in 2020 the subsidy
:06:38. > :06:40.environment for farmers will have changed dramatically. Policy
:06:41. > :06:44.decisions being taken now by the Welsh Government will either have
:06:45. > :06:50.left capped at -- agriculture more resilient or alternatively fallen
:06:51. > :06:51.behind the Contra -- cognition. By 2020 rural Wales could look very
:06:52. > :06:54.different. Joining me now is the Minister
:06:55. > :07:07.for Natural Resources and Food, What is your vision for farming in
:07:08. > :07:13.Wales by the end of the decade? We wanted to be profitable and
:07:14. > :07:16.resilient and underpinning a prosperous rural economy. We want to
:07:17. > :07:20.make investments today that will ensure our farmers and farms are
:07:21. > :07:30.able to be competitive in the future. There is no single model for
:07:31. > :07:34.the future. What I have done is created the biggest investment
:07:35. > :07:41.opportunity in Welsh agriculture in generations. So the farmer who is no
:07:42. > :07:46.longer getting direct payments or not as much as in the past is going
:07:47. > :07:50.to be wondering when he talks about investment what does he mean? Nobody
:07:51. > :07:55.disagrees with my basic analysis that we're going to see a reduction
:07:56. > :07:58.in subsidies. If they farm is dependent on a subsidy and if that
:07:59. > :08:03.is going to fall they need to increase their additional income.
:08:04. > :08:11.Why are you accelerating that process? I believe we need to go as
:08:12. > :08:17.a community in Wales to ensure that farming in Wales is a resilient
:08:18. > :08:21.thing for the future. If we do nothing that farm will fail in ten
:08:22. > :08:28.years time. Nobody wants to see that. We are building the biggest
:08:29. > :08:32.investment fund that we have ever seen in Wales to invest in
:08:33. > :08:36.agriculture, to invest in the infrastructure of agriculture and
:08:37. > :08:40.the skills of agriculture. We want to give farmers the tools to ensure
:08:41. > :08:46.they can not only survive in the future but prosper. In switching
:08:47. > :08:52.from direct payments to the other fund, you could have switched 5% or
:08:53. > :09:12.10% but you have gone for the maximum 15%. Why did you decide to
:09:13. > :09:15.push it to the extreme? 80% goes straight back to pillar when
:09:16. > :09:20.recipients. What we want to do is create an investment fund. He will
:09:21. > :09:23.not create a successful industry in the future by simply doing what
:09:24. > :09:34.we're doing today. Everybody agrees with that. I am confident that
:09:35. > :09:39.farmers was to invest in their farms and invest in the infrastructure of
:09:40. > :09:45.agriculture. We are going to provide them with the tools to do that in
:09:46. > :09:48.terms of skills development. If we can do this we can create
:09:49. > :09:52.inefficient industry that will be profitable and prosperous in the
:09:53. > :09:56.future. We all agree we want to see that. What happens to those farmers
:09:57. > :10:00.who are not accessing the money in a different way? Do they just
:10:01. > :10:05.disappear? If farm is dependent on subsidy and that is no opportunity
:10:06. > :10:11.to invest they will not be able to survive in the future. How many will
:10:12. > :10:16.there be? I don't think it is that many. If you look at what is
:10:17. > :10:21.happening in sheep and dairy and beef you will see that farms are
:10:22. > :10:26.making investments today and are today profitable. I actually think
:10:27. > :10:31.we have a great future for Welsh agriculture. We launched a Welsh
:10:32. > :10:36.food action plan last week and that is based on the successful
:10:37. > :10:45.agricultural industry producing primary produce that we all enjoy at
:10:46. > :10:48.home with our families. My determination is that your children
:10:49. > :10:52.and my children will have that same opportunity to enjoy great Welsh
:10:53. > :10:57.produce. And when they look around them in the future they will see a
:10:58. > :11:03.lot of those mega- dear these? Is that the pattern? It is a very real
:11:04. > :11:08.beast in Wales. There are only three or four across the whole country. Do
:11:09. > :11:15.you expect there to be more? No. I don't think there is a single model
:11:16. > :11:18.for a sheep farm ordered dairy farm. -- or a dearly farm. I think you
:11:19. > :11:24.will see a diverse and resilient and robust industry that underpins and
:11:25. > :11:29.that is the backbone of rural Wales and of our language and culture and
:11:30. > :11:35.our environment. I think we will -- we all want to see those things. You
:11:36. > :11:38.are talking energetically about this area but how difficult is it there
:11:39. > :11:45.to carry on those duties while there is investigation going on into
:11:46. > :11:50.another area of your policy? It's not difficult at all. I am confident
:11:51. > :11:55.in the way I am doing the job. I am confident that the work I am doing
:11:56. > :11:58.today, I will carry on doing and we will make significant investments
:11:59. > :12:04.for the future. I am looking forward to the next two years because I
:12:05. > :12:07.think what we are doing in Wales is being radical but also being
:12:08. > :12:12.realistic about the future. We have great opportunity to do this. I
:12:13. > :12:17.believe in this industry. You want to stay in this job? I certainly do.
:12:18. > :12:24.I believe in this industry. I think together we can create an excellent
:12:25. > :12:28.future and we all want to see that. By working together with the
:12:29. > :12:35.industry and the agricultural community we can deliver those
:12:36. > :12:37.things. Wales is searching for a new
:12:38. > :12:41.Children's Commissioner. Keith Towler is preparing to hand over the
:12:42. > :12:44.battle. Willis led the way in the creation of this role being the
:12:45. > :12:48.first government in the UK to appoint a commission at the deal
:12:49. > :12:52.solely with the needs of children. But changes are needed to make sure
:12:53. > :12:56.his successor can operate as effectively as possible not least in
:12:57. > :13:03.the way the role is governed. David Williams reports.
:13:04. > :13:09.Wanted, new Children's Commissioner for Wales. I think if you come into
:13:10. > :13:14.this job as the Children's Commissioner with a whole set of
:13:15. > :13:18.ideas about things you want to do you going about it the way. You must
:13:19. > :13:23.have the ability to listen. What you need to do is meet with children and
:13:24. > :13:27.talk with them and really listen to what children are saying. Must be
:13:28. > :13:34.prepared for tricky questions. We asked him a question about his
:13:35. > :13:38.favourite superpower and he said it would be if he could fly. It is a
:13:39. > :13:48.difficult job but it's well paid. I get paid ?92,000 a year.
:13:49. > :13:53.Satisfaction guaranteed. I will never have a job as good as this. I
:13:54. > :14:00.know whatever happens to me next I will always look at this period as
:14:01. > :14:05.the best part of my career. Keith Towler is coming to the end of his
:14:06. > :14:12.fixed seven-year term of office and the hunt is on for his successor.
:14:13. > :14:20.It's a tough act to follow. The current Children's Commissioner is
:14:21. > :14:25.always game for a laugh. His natural self-effacing style always puts
:14:26. > :14:28.young people at ease. But perhaps the biggest asset of all is his
:14:29. > :14:35.ability to listen and to talk to young people on their own terms. I
:14:36. > :14:45.figured is a good idea to listen to the children to find out what they
:14:46. > :14:53.think is bad and good. This is the agenda for the day. I will need my
:14:54. > :14:55.glasses. Seven years ago when I first met the Children's
:14:56. > :15:00.Commissioner those talents were obvious to everyone, including the
:15:01. > :15:09.people on the panel which appointed him. Among them was then sires, then
:15:10. > :15:14.aged 14. When I first met Ben he was this blonde child with glasses and
:15:15. > :15:20.he used to sell white chocolate and then just looked like the Milky bar
:15:21. > :15:25.kid. We invited Ben, now a 21-year-old student, to ask what
:15:26. > :15:39.superpowers he would like to have to meet again the man he helped to
:15:40. > :15:48.appoint? I interviewed for him seven years ago. He has done really well.
:15:49. > :15:51.Awareness. When I was starting originally, I knew who the
:15:52. > :15:56.Children's Commissioner was because I was involved, but as far as
:15:57. > :16:06.friends and family, they had no real idea. Now he is more prominent. I
:16:07. > :16:15.asked for cheese, but they put in June. Do you get choice? Yes, but
:16:16. > :16:21.there is lumped in the gravy. These young people are the super
:16:22. > :16:27.ambassadors, representing fellow school pupils on a whole range of
:16:28. > :16:34.issues which really matter to young people. Issues like school dinners.
:16:35. > :16:38.It is a dangerous object. No one is getting poisoned! The milk is
:16:39. > :16:44.curdling, but you get career will sense. A sense of what is on the
:16:45. > :16:50.menu in schools is the kind of sense of information which the commission
:16:51. > :16:58.can use to influence those with the power to change things. Full is like
:16:59. > :17:03.the Welsh Government. The queues are too long. Some children are hungry
:17:04. > :17:08.in the afternoon and is a big policy message, particularly for the
:17:09. > :17:13.Education Minister, thinking about attainment and attainment and
:17:14. > :17:16.attendance and concentration levels. There is the meat of what the
:17:17. > :17:20.Children's Commissioner does, listening to what young people are
:17:21. > :17:25.saying and then lobbying on their behalf with those in power, but for
:17:26. > :17:28.that to work effectively, it presumes that people are listening
:17:29. > :17:35.to what the Children's Commissioner is saying and that is not always the
:17:36. > :17:39.case. And, there is another problem. The current legislative framework
:17:40. > :17:45.drawn up when devolution in Wales was in its infancy, is no longer fit
:17:46. > :17:49.for purpose. The Children's Commissioner is finding it
:17:50. > :17:55.increasingly difficult to do what he is supposed to do, be an effective
:17:56. > :17:59.ambassador for young people. Legislation is very much off its
:18:00. > :18:05.time and it is a bit of a mess, a bit ad hoc in modern Wales were we
:18:06. > :18:08.now have an executive government and the National Assembly that
:18:09. > :18:13.scrutinises our government. It raises questions about the
:18:14. > :18:18.relationship with the commissioner to Welsh Government and the National
:18:19. > :18:23.Assembly. Legislation has become out of date. Keith Towler is quite clear
:18:24. > :18:27.about what should happen next. I would take the view that in modern
:18:28. > :18:31.Wales and the moderate UK we should extend the remit of the Children's
:18:32. > :18:36.Commissioner to use the powers that we will give the future commissioner
:18:37. > :18:40.to extend over things like asylum and youth justice and child poverty.
:18:41. > :18:45.None of those areas which I have spent time working on I have any
:18:46. > :18:56.powers at all in relation to and it is time for change. Not only that,
:18:57. > :18:58.he says his successor should be answerable to the Welsh assembly,
:18:59. > :19:01.not the Welsh Government. In other words, doing away with any possible
:19:02. > :19:07.chance after Iraq political pressure from the government of the day. It
:19:08. > :19:10.is the first Minister who has the responsibility for appointing me or
:19:11. > :19:18.the next commissioner and I would say that as the appointed human
:19:19. > :19:22.rights institution, the Welsh Government have never ever
:19:23. > :19:28.intervened in any way in what I want to do, but nevertheless, the
:19:29. > :19:32.relationship is not the right one. Appointing a Children's Commissioner
:19:33. > :19:35.to hold them to account is uncomfortable, you think about that
:19:36. > :19:41.and you think how can that possibly be possible -- proper independent?
:19:42. > :19:46.The accountability and the work programme of the commissioner should
:19:47. > :19:53.be examined in the National Assembly. His views will no doubt
:19:54. > :19:57.resonate with those charged by the Welsh Government with conducting an
:19:58. > :20:03.independent review of the future role and functions of the new
:20:04. > :20:08.Children's Commissioner for Wales. I cannot do any kind of spinning, I am
:20:09. > :20:11.not going in there. Believe me when I say that ever the new Children's
:20:12. > :20:15.Commissioner is Children's Commissioner is an whatever changes
:20:16. > :20:20.are made to the role, the person chosen could do worse than take a
:20:21. > :20:24.moment to examine what the man in the role now has done to enhance the
:20:25. > :20:29.rights and increase the profile of those young people he represents.
:20:30. > :20:35.You have got to be able to listen and understand what children are
:20:36. > :20:40.saying, you need stamina to do this job, I think you should not rely on
:20:41. > :20:45.e-mail or social media, websites, you need to get out and meet people,
:20:46. > :20:51.go to schools and hospital, meet families, that is the most important
:20:52. > :20:56.thing. It is a lonely place, you have to be well prepared.
:20:57. > :21:02.David Williams talking to Keith Towler.
:21:03. > :21:05.Over the past decade, the way we access news has changed
:21:06. > :21:08.Your local paper may no longer be in circulation, but online outlets have
:21:09. > :21:11.surged in number and popularity, putting global and local news
:21:12. > :21:16.But while there are more ways to consume news, it seems there are
:21:17. > :21:18.fewer journalists creating original stories and there's a greater
:21:19. > :21:24.reliance on PR professionals to meet the demand for content.
:21:25. > :21:27.In an exclusive survey for The Wales Report, we've discovered that in
:21:28. > :21:35.Wales, journalists are outnumbered two to one by PR workers.
:21:36. > :21:42.There are 13 newspapers in Wales with five journalists or fewer. Five
:21:43. > :21:44.had just one journalist working on them.
:21:45. > :21:47.In a moment, we'll discuss whether this is weakening our ability to
:21:48. > :21:50.But first, broadcaster and media commentator, Steve
:21:51. > :22:08.PR and journalism will always exist in conflict. They are opposite sides
:22:09. > :22:11.of the same coin, one set of people trying to get their message across
:22:12. > :22:17.and the other set trying to find out what is really going on. On the --
:22:18. > :22:20.when the balance goes wrong it is serious, because unless you have
:22:21. > :22:25.news rooms that are well on free sourced, things do not get properly
:22:26. > :22:33.scrutinised and ultimately, what passes for journalism is actually
:22:34. > :22:38.work PR material is just regurgitated. If that keeps
:22:39. > :22:46.happening, it is the public who get short-changed -- where PR material.
:22:47. > :22:49.I am not sure that digital developments are necessarily
:22:50. > :22:53.entirely threatening. We have seen a huge upsurge in what we might call
:22:54. > :22:58.citizen journalism or ordinary people and people who take an
:22:59. > :23:02.interest are able to find things out and publish material which
:23:03. > :23:06.previously only professional journalist could do. I think there
:23:07. > :23:10.is probably as much good journalism going on as ever was, it is not
:23:11. > :23:18.necessarily going on in the same places. People being drawn towards
:23:19. > :23:22.or into PR, that is not surprising because that is where the money is.
:23:23. > :23:29.When people drop out of the job of editor, quite often they appear in
:23:30. > :23:34.PR. The problem is that the whole thing is shifting in one direction.
:23:35. > :23:38.More PR does not worry me, what worries me is less journalism.
:23:39. > :23:40.That was media commentator Steve Hewlett.
:23:41. > :23:42.And here with me now is Sara Robinson, founder of PR
:23:43. > :23:44.company, Cake Communications and Jason Evans, a journalist with
:23:45. > :24:05.I googled for coming in. So, you go from journalism into PR, why? For
:24:06. > :24:10.me, I spent five years in television which was fantastic, but I wanted to
:24:11. > :24:14.write and I think this might be at the heart of the problem. I did not
:24:15. > :24:17.feel like I was doing enough original writing and I fancied a
:24:18. > :24:26.change. It was nothing to do with money, I took a pay cut. That is
:24:27. > :24:32.interesting. I can see at more junior levels that that is the case.
:24:33. > :24:39.I thought about the way that journalism is operating now in South
:24:40. > :24:45.Wales -- a thought. It represents a source of news, but a powerful
:24:46. > :24:56.source. How do you into wracked? PR is a source -- call what rate. There
:24:57. > :25:03.is more and better PR out there. They can come to us and there is a
:25:04. > :25:09.lady who is a charity volunteer who has won an award, is that the story,
:25:10. > :25:15.we think it is to reflect. PR would provide the way end. I do not have a
:25:16. > :25:21.problem with that -- we think it is great. What kind of approach would
:25:22. > :25:27.worry you? Everyone is in PR these days. Everyone is trying to control
:25:28. > :25:30.their image. You sometimes get inundated with stuff from different
:25:31. > :25:37.sources and some of it you need to challenge, some of it is
:25:38. > :25:42.propaganda. They will go in the bin. It is a tough time for the media
:25:43. > :25:49.generally and for local newspapers. There have been huge budget cuts,
:25:50. > :25:55.cuts in staffing, people have lost their jobs and news rooms can be
:25:56. > :25:59.lonely sometimes. The staffing levels are down. What would you say
:26:00. > :26:04.to the viewer who is thinking, she has been successful in this
:26:05. > :26:08.company, but actually your business is about working for clients and if
:26:09. > :26:13.that means covering up stuff which you do not like and promoting stuff
:26:14. > :26:19.you do like, that is what you do? I would like to think in our company,
:26:20. > :26:31.ethics is important. The industry has a responsibility to pick and
:26:32. > :26:34.choose clients carefully, to represent people that they believe
:26:35. > :26:36.offer goods and services that they believe in and from our point of
:26:37. > :26:39.view, we work with a lot of charities and I think that the PR
:26:40. > :26:41.industry has an important role to play. Ultimately we are here to
:26:42. > :26:46.deliver a message for our clients and we want to work with journalists
:26:47. > :26:50.and we welcome challenge to our stories. I see in magazines and
:26:51. > :26:55.newspapers, and article, you will think it is part of the journalistic
:26:56. > :27:00.offering, until you notice at the top of the page, in tiny letters,
:27:01. > :27:04.advertising feature, it is that something you're comfortable with?
:27:05. > :27:11.There is not much money around and paid for content are a threat. They
:27:12. > :27:20.are a source of income, journalism is expensive. How we develop a
:27:21. > :27:25.sustainable business model, whether it is a community asset approach, a
:27:26. > :27:31.local approach, there is a passion for local news and on a local paper,
:27:32. > :27:34.you are aware of it, people stop you and want to talk to you about a
:27:35. > :27:40.story or challenge you about something, people love local news
:27:41. > :27:45.and people want to come in -- and work in the papers. People want work
:27:46. > :27:55.experience every week. Even after a week with me, they still want to do
:27:56. > :28:00.it! It is marrying the desire for local news with people who want to
:28:01. > :28:05.provide the news. Is the relationship between PR and
:28:06. > :28:09.journalism in a healthy place? In my personal experience it is, but there
:28:10. > :28:14.are challenges which need to be addressed in how we pay for our
:28:15. > :28:17.journalism and sustain good high-quality journalism going
:28:18. > :28:22.forward. I think local news is at a crossroads, the way forward is not
:28:23. > :28:26.clear, I think that PR could become more of a threat to news unless
:28:27. > :28:29.decisions are made in the future. That's it for tonight's
:28:30. > :28:31.programme and for this series. But we'll be back after the summer
:28:32. > :28:34.with more reports, investigations You can get in touch with us
:28:35. > :28:38.on email: