The Compass

With 14 months to go until the next US presidential election, former foreign correspondent Andrea Catherwood finds out how the American media is preparing for the forthcoming onslaught.

(Photo: Donald Trump argues with CNN journalist Jim Acosta in November 2018. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Former International Correspondent for CNBC and ITN Andrea Catherwood hears from journalists on both sides of the information war in Ukraine.

In July this year Reporters Without Borders warned that the editorial independence of Ukraine’s news media was under threat after 400 journalists resigned over concerns that their new boss was using censorship and media manipulation to try to bring Ukraine back into the area of Russian political influence. We hear the first hand account of one of those who resigned.

(Photo: Activists of Ukrainian far-rignt party National Corps demand closure of pro-Russian TV channels outside the State Commitee for Television and Radio Broadcasting for Ukraine in Kiev, 2019. Credit: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)

It has been three years since Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte won a landslide victory off the back of a promise to wipe out drug abuse. Since then thousands of people have been killed in his so called "war on drugs" and the president stands accused of personally spearheading an attack against critical voices in the media.

Former international correspondent Andrea Catherwood takes us to the frontline of the battle for press freedom in the country. She goes behind the scenes at Rappler, one of the countries most popular online news sites, to meet CEO Maria Ressa, who faces a lengthy prison term if convicted under libel law, in a case she claims is politically motivated. Ed Lingao, a television news anchorman and one of the most well known faces in the Philippines, shares his experience of being accused of being part of a plot to bring down the president. And with the country's biggest television network ABS-CBN awaiting congressional approval and presidential sign-off of its franchise renewal, press freedom advocate Melinda de Jesus considers the impact of President Duterte’s public spat with the media giant.

Producer: Emily Williams

(Photo: Filipina journalist Maria Ressa, CEO of online news outfit Rappler, participates in a protest by press and media groups calling for press freedom in Manila, Philippines. Credit: Getty Images)

India's ruling party the BJP won a landslide victory in the country's May general election. The party bypassed traditional media channels and exploited India's love of social media to deliver their message direct to voters.

(Photo: Indian men read newspaper outside a polling station in Agra Uttar Pradesh. Credit: Nasir Kachroo/Getty Images)

Anna Jones asks young farmers how they plan to feed the world while protecting the land they have inherited. Can we balance commercial food production with the needs of our increasingly fragile natural environment?

In New Zealand, dairy farmer Richard Fowler talks about the epiphany which changed his whole approach to farming, and why he is willing to accept less milk for more grass and better soil.

There is a shift in the mind-set of the Millennial farmer; whereas the past was about productivity, the future is about sustainability.

And in the Australian outback, a land hit by years of drought followed by catastrophic flooding, Anna asks how farmers will remain resilient in the face of climate change. What does the future hold for our Millennial farmers?

(Photo: Dried-up river bed in Olga Downs, Australia. Credit: Anna Jones)

From Big Ag and "factory farming" to urban micro farms, Anna Jones explores dramatic differences in the scale of modern agriculture.

Looking out across the New York City skyline, Anna hears how food can be produced sustainably, affordably and even abundantly on a rooftop in the heart of one of the world’s biggest cities. Urban farmer Ben Flanner swapped an engineering career in Manhattan for growing vegetables on top of an 11th storey building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He believes Millennials are reconnecting with fresh ingredients, grown locally, and rejecting sugary, processed food – much of which contains corn syrup derived from the field corn grown under America’s industrial farming model.

But on his combine in Iowa, rolling through 4,500 acres at the height of the corn harvest, 28-year-old Brandon Pickard says farms have expanded in order to survive. He believes industrial farming is the consequence of a shrinking farming population and expansion is the natural evolution of a successful business. He’s proud of his corn crop and says it’s helping to feed the world.

And Anna visits an organic farm in New York state which is making agriculture more diverse in terms of the crops they grow and the farmers that grow them. Rise & Root Farm is owned and run by four women – two of them are black and two of them are gay.

Producer: Anna Jones

(Photo: Brooklyn Grange Farm. Credit: Anna Jones/BBC)

Anna Jones looks at how digital and mobile phone technology is changing farming and boosting prosperity in rural communities around the world.

Anna goes on a road trip through Ghana with young entrepreneur Peter Awin, transporting animal vaccines from the capital Accra to the remote northern region. Peter has developed a mobile app called Cowtribe, which connects some of West Africa’s poorest smallholder farmers with vital animal health and veterinary services. For the first time ever they can prevent their animals from getting sick - and all because of a mobile phone.

In north-west Queensland, Anna hears how one farmer is bringing super-fast internet speeds to some of the most isolated communities in the world. With Australian families leaving the outback due to poor connectivity, William Harrington’s Wi-Sky internet is helping to keep bush communities alive.

But who owns all this data? As Millennials' pull agriculture into the 21st Century, are farmers ready for the changes that come with it?

(Photo: Internet tower in rural Australia)

Anna Jones explores the challenges facing family farms in the American Midwest and the outback of Australia, and discovers how Millennial farmers are embracing change to ensure their survival.

In Iowa, Anna meets two young corn and soybean growers - Brandon Pickard, 28, and Wade Dooley, 35. Both are struggling to make a living from poor grain prices but coming up with very different ways of earning extra income. Pork or popcorn anyone?

But some things on a cattle station never change – it’s mustering season and Anna finds herself in the thick of the action.

(Photo: Cattle on the muster in Australia. Credit: Olga Downs)

The sky is hidden by smog in Lanzhou on the Yellow River; this transport and manufacturing hub is pumping Chinese goods out to the world. In this last programme, we find out how the Belt and Road Initiative has brought new people into this growing metropolis and how businesses are benefiting from the new infrastructure.

Presenter: Peter Shevlin and Martin Yip

When it comes to South-East Asia, China’s presence is most felt in Sihanoukville. Cambodia’s once sleepy backpacker resort has been transformed by Chinese investment – the sheer speed of development has divided local opinion. Chatting to everyone from bus drivers to market stall holders about their experiences of a changing town, we ask, how has the Chinese influx affected the people of Sihanoukville?

(Photo: Public square with building construction in the background in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Credit: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)