American Prosperity and the "Race to the Bottom:" Why Won't the Media Ask the Right

Questions?
Author(s): Dell P. Champlin and Janet T. Knoedler
Source: Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Mar., 2008), pp. 133-151
Published by: Association for Evolutionary Economics
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OF ECONOMICISSUES
JOURNAL
IPJ Vol.
March 2008
XLI1
No. 1

Jul

American Prosperity and the "Race to the Bottom:"

Why won't theMedia ask the rightquestions?
Dell P. Champlin

Media
coverage of income inequality and the economic
plight of
class fails to analyze the long-term effects of growing inequality and
The article examines
solutions.
the literature on media
possible

ABSTRACT:
the middle
to consider

of income

coverage
three

and Janet T. Knoedler

class, and then examines how

inequality and the middle
economic
the neoclassical
the propaganda
model,
the inadequate
the institutionalist model,explain
coverage of the
models,

competing
and

model,

effects and

solutions.

Media
coverage of economics,
Keywords:
media
coverage and institutionalism

media

of the middle

coverage

class,

/fl Classification Codes. B52, L82, D63

The problem of growing income inequality in the United

serious

over

reports

by

national
most
how

much

this

covered

is there.

the

we

a unique
and

been

suggest

"discovery"

and
educate

national

yet

and what

of

phase

Before

problem

income

"action"
inequality

that can

and

in this regard.
Indeed,
on important
the public
issues

vital

role

on

about

and
view,

the well-being
the

phase
can be
should

be

inequality

addressed,
resolved.

the responsibility
long been

of

problem
itmust
The

of the media
recognized

has
first

media
to

as vital

In practice, however, the

Dell Champlin isa retiredProfessorofEconomics, Eastern IllinoisUniversity and JanetKnoedler isan Associate
Professorof Economics at Bucknell University.

133
?2008,

of

it?

is- the way

to a democracy (Croteau and Hoynes 2001; Fallows 1996).

Yet,

for the

inequality
in our
and

to moving

has

in

stories

is growing

inequality

obstacle

to the

issue.1

to the next,

can be done

a major

that

media.

to move

this

papers,

scholarly
feature

special

published
or not there

whether

the effects

recently,
on

been

have

We

are

what

in the national

as a serious,

be viewed

inform

paper

from

have

States has become more

of books,

number

and

data,
have

its participants,

and

economy

inequality

plays

topics

phase:

substantial

government

and magazines

inequality

important

thirty years.

tanks,

the main

part,

In

been

think

newspapers

more
our

the past

Journal ofEconomic Issues

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134 Dell P- C/iamplin and JanetT Knoedler

performance of themedia in pursuit of this public interest responsibility has fallen
short of this ideal. The national media has been criticized in recent years for its
in the

overzealousness

increased

of

pursuit

tabloid

as

or,

stories,

case

in the

of

the

War in Iraq, a distinct lack of zealousness in the pursuit of the salient information
about the linksbetween the 9/11 terroristsand Iraq, or the extent of the development
of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq. In the latter case, according to
ofWeapons
many observers, themedia devoted an insufficientamount of time and effort to the
- an identification and
analysis of the problem; and went too
"discovery" phase
to
of
for action. Al Gore's latest book, The
and
calls
the
coverage
fervently
quickly
on Reason

Assault
factual

the

makes
and

reporting

of

analysis

the media

that

argument

issues

important

in so doing,

and,

to

attention

insufficient

pay

our

undermine

ability to find the best solutions (Gore 2007).2 In our view,media coverage of income
inequality and the declining fortunes of theAmerican middle class is a conspicuous
of

example

the

trends Gore

issue,

describes.

yet to move

has

the discussion

a recent

Despite

a mere

beyond

on

in reporting

increase

statement

this

of the problem.

begin with a brief survey of the debate over income inequality and the
middle
class in theUnited States as covered by the national media. In the
shrinking
We

second

we

section,

covering
the media

to assess

inequality

as well

ifwe

electorate

as

are

to bring

term

"middle

class"

calls

the

is commonly

of growing
of

wealth
these

of the media

in

the media

economic

three

redress

importance

progressive

Coverage

for

of

performance

contrast

causes

the

cover

about

about

Media
The

to

its failure

the

we

section,

to explain

its failure

on

literature

In the third

a brief observation

with

conclude

recent

review
news.

economic

of

models

income

and

We
problems.
in informing
the

change.

of theMiddle
used

Class

scholars,

by

and

politicians,

reporters

to

discuss economic and cultural issues, but the latter two groups typicallydecline to
clear

offer

reigns

as Steven

Pressman

constitutes

of what

definitions

confusion

in scholarly
recently

and

policy

noted,

circles

"theory

the middle

class.

about

who

resides

not

and

does

cannot

much

Moreover,
in the middle
tell us who

class:

counts

as

middle class" (Pressman 2007, 182). Given our focus in this paper on themedia's
coverage of the economic fortunes of the middle class, specifically, the growing
income inequality evidenced in large part by the declining fortunes of the middle
we

class,
class

will

means

use

Pressman's

economic

a middle-class

having

definition

standard

of

of

the middle

living

or

having

class:

"being

middle

an

income

that

is

somewhere in themiddle of the income distribution" (Pressman 2007, 183; see also
Peterson 1994, 53 ff.;Zweig 2000, 20 ff.).3
Despite this lack of clarity about who is in the American middle class, the
middle class has often been a popular media topic. Following World War II, news
coverage

of the U.S.

economy

often

middle class" (Yarrow 2006, 68).

at

least

books

the blue

collar

middle

centered

on

the expanding

and

"newly

'affluent'

In the 1980s itwas the decline of themiddle class

class

that

caught

the media's

attention.

Popular

such as The Deindustrialization of America and America: What went Wrong

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American Prosperity
and the "Race to theBottom"135
the loss of highly paid manufacturing jobs and their replacement by
lower paid service sector jobs with few benefits and less job security (Bluestone and
Harrison 1982; Bartlett and Steele 1992). A 1983 article by Robert Kuttner in the
in fact created a major media
Atlantic Monthly entitled, "The Declining Middle,"
documented

sensation

and

a serious

generated

in the mainstream

discussion

on

media

loss of

the

middle class incomes for thousands of workers. By the early 1990s, more books had
been published on the topic. However, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the
middle class crisis all but disappeared from the news. Even though the number of
secure jobs with health and pension benefits continued to decline, the media
trumpeted the economic boom and the "new" economy (Cohen 2000, 4). With the
terror attacks of 2001 and theWars in Iraq and Afghanistan following so closely on
the heels of the dotcom bust, themedia seemed to lose interest in inequality.
Moreover, media interest in the problem of growing inequality and themiddle
class

even

squeeze,

issue.

the

during

The

work

has

1980s,

been

largely

of Donald

to

confined

as

its salience

Bartlett and

political
James Steele, well-known
of
the
,
Philadelphia Inquirer focused on the deleterious
investigative reporters formerly
role of Reagan era government policy in fomenting the decline o{ themiddle class
(Barlett and Steele 1992, 5 ff.). In 1992, candidate Clinton made the "middle class
squeeze" a major issue in his campaign (Beatty 1994; Ifill 1992). In later campaigns,
the focus of democratic candidates on health care was driven, in part, by its
as a middle

identification

issue.

class

to the literature on the middle

some

it, with

viewing

Conservative

and

pundits

class crisis and worsening

as

justification,

an

on

attack

reacted

policymakers

income distribution by

conservative

economic

policies.

Their approach for the past 25 years has been to deny the existence of a middle class
to minimize

crisis,

extent

the

of

growing

to

and

inequality,

accuse

of

liberals

deliberately distorting statistics (Bartlett 2005; Foster-Bey 2004; Hassett 2006; Luskin
2005). For example, Alan Reynolds of the Cato Institute,who writes frequently for
the Wall
windfalls
significant

Street Journal,
the

during
or
sustained
or wealth

consumption,

recent

stock-market
in

increase
over

in

concludes
late-1990s

boom,

the

20

the past

paper,

is

of

U.S.

inequality

years"

from

"[a]side
there

(Reynolds

little

option

incomes,
1; see

2007,

stock

of

evidence

wages,
Burtless

also,

2007).
in the face of the continued

However,
class mobility

in recent

Survey of Consumer

years,

Finances,

the

and

release

and

pronounced

of new

the publication

data
of

such

a growing

in income
and
changes
as the Federal
Reserve's
number

of

studies

in

academic journals and by public interestgroups, the subject has recently resurfaced in
major media outlets (Cf. Bucks, Kennickell, and Moore 2006). A quick search of
newspaper

on

indexes

inequality

showed

approximately

twice

as many

articles

published on this topic between 2002 and 2007 as compared to the 1997 to 2002
period.4 To list a few of themore noteworthy articles, theNew YorkTimes published a
series of articles on the problems of class in theUnited States in 2005 (Scott and
Leonhardt

2005)

and

regularly

editorials (cf. Brooks 2006).5

reports

on

income

inequality

either

in articles

or

in

The Wall StreetJournal includes coverage o{ growing

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136 DeK P- Champlin and JanetT Knoedler

income inequality and regularly covers the political aspects of inequality (Cf.Wessel
2005; Schuman 2007; Ip 2006).
An article by Blaine Harden in The Washington Post on June 22, 2006, reported
on a Brookings Institution study of the decline inmiddle income neighborhoods in
100 metropolitan

and

areas,

problems of the middle

Times

covers

routinely

Steven

Pearlstein

two

produced

short

articles

class (March 8, 2006 and May 30, 2007).

issue

the

of

even

inequality,

on

the

The Los Angeles

the

though

articles

are

predominantly local in focus. Indeed, after theNovember 2006 election, the debate
over the existence of the problem of income inequality finally appeared to be over
when both President Bush and the Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, Ben
Bernanke, acknowledged the problem of worsening income distribution, and their
statements were duly covered in theWall StreetJournal (Ip and McKinnon
2007;

Wessel

2007).
in spite of the modest

However,

in coverage,

increase

cases

in most

the emphasis

is limited to a simple reporting of the existence of growing inequality and middle class
decline. Where causes are identified, the blame is typicallyattributed to factors such
as rising globalization, insufficient educational attainment, or rapid technological

change, factors that carry an air of inevitabilityand are presumed to be outside the
control

of

In

policymakers.6

media

addition,

of

coverage

substantive

studies

of

growing inequality and middle class struggles is balanced by the continuing effortof
some

Dobbs
news

or minimize

to deny

conservatives

the

on CNN,

program

he

where

to inequality
for

Lou

populist

and

the middle
issues

of real

analysis
ratings

summarized

or

the

increased

class

and

political

not

point.

in a notable

the use

of "inequality"

.For

move

the Wall

example,

Street

Until January,President Bush seldom acknowledged thewidening gap

between the rich and themiddle class. Then, in a speech, he declared:
some

"I know

of our

citizens

about

worry

the

He

isn't

This
rather

has

raised

sudden

a change

say current

and

the subject

change

in tactics
former

several

in Mr.

forced

that

economic

Bush's

our

dynamic

since.

times

by the changing

administration

fact

. . . Income
inequality is

economy is leaving working people behind

real."

political

officials

and

still

don't

but

philosophy,

environment,

outsiders

in touch

with theWhite House.

Top

House

White

inequality

economic

the growing

share

officials
of

income

or

going

inherentlybad thing. . . . (Ip and McKinnon

consider

to those

toward

as a vehicle

as follows:

to inequality

attention

ushered

but merely

solutions,
talking

immigrants

In these circles, the increased attention

has

squeeze

to illegal

the blame

assigns

typically

venal politicians (Dobbs 2006; Auletta 2006).

an

Conservative

problem.

now includes a segment titled the "War on theMiddle Class" on his nightly

today's
- an

at the top

2007, A7)

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Journal

and the "Race to theBottom"137

American Prosperity
In short, despite the renewed interest in the topic of growing inequality and the
shrinkingmiddle class, these recent media reports have not moved beyond basic
reporting. Historically, the role of the media has been not to merely identify
In fact, it
problems but also to explore and evaluate solutions (cf. Fallows 1996).
recent
the
be
concluded
that
has
reduced
of
coverage
might
actually
possibility
finding
as the problem

solutions,

of

becomes

inequality

the subject

and

of strategic

overblown

political rhetoric that is leftunchallenged by a passive and uncurious press during the
ever lengthening presidential campaign (cf. Krugman, June 8, 2007).
Factual and
elusive

this now

30

recent

news

coverage

in the U.S.

trend

year

seems

economy

more

ever.

than

Our

on

discourse

meaningful

of

survey

about

the declining

fortunes

of

the U.S.

middle class indicates three themes that are cited again and again: (1) these trends are
due to inevitable and impersonal historical forces such as technological change or
globalization, and the failure of the poor and middle class to adapt by acquiring
appropriate skills (cf.Wessel 2005; Ip and McKinnon 2007; Blinder 2006); (2) the
effectof globalization on themiddle class has been exacerbated by bad government

policy on trade, outsourcing and immigration (cf.Dobbs 2006, Buchanan 1998); and
(3) these trends are due to the distortion of tax and other policies in favor of the rich
at the expense of the middle class and the poor (cf. Krugman 2007).
Very
an

occasionally,

article

comment

will

that

the

trends

toward

greater

and

inequality

shrinkingmiddle class will contribute to sharper class divisions in the futureor affect
the democratic process (cf.Cassidy 1995; Bernasek 2006). For the most part, the

media

the three themes,

with
little substantive
debate.
simply presents
unchallenged,
a consequence,
a menu
is confronted
the public
with
of three flavors from which
to choose with no further information
on the accuracy
of the analysis,
the significance

As

of the problem, the desirability of reversing this 30 year trend, or even the possibility
so.

of doing
middle

In other

class.

The

as a problem

not viewed

the

words,

"problem"

is that

"problem"

that can be

is not

the middle

is not

the media

that
class

is easily

decline

covering

the
and

explained

solved.

Analyses of News Coverage

We

now

turn

to examine

the question

of why

the media

has

to explore

failed

the facts

behind the declining middle class and the bleak future thatmay await most of its
current
offers

in 21st

members
several

credible

century

America.

Scholarly

for the news

explanations

media's

literature

causes and consequences of middle class decline: (1) themedia

narrative"

that

reflects

the

existing

cultural

hierarchies,

on

inadequate

the news
coverage

media
of

the

focus on a "master
the

namely

views

of

the

cultural and economic elite; (2) themedia is itselfpart of thewealthy elite and thus
does not "see" the problems of the declining middle; (3) more complex news coverage
of the middle

and (4) media

toward

class

decline

is too

costly

coverage of middle

conservative

and

unexciting

for mainstream

class aspirations and needs

media

outlets;

is increasingly tilted

explanations.

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138 DeM P- Champlin and JanetT Knoedler

the first two points,

with

Beginning

chosen

narrative"7

the mainstream

by

several

have

analysts

will

media

reflect

that

noted

the

cultural

existing

"master

hierarchies.

The dominant point of view is that of the economic and culturally powerful within
our society and not that of the strugglingmiddle class. In his classic content analysis
of the news provided by the threemajor broadcast networks, DecidingWhat's News,
Gans

Herbert

stated,

the economic,
the most
those,

"[a]

the news

part,

and

social

political,

at the bottom,

particularly

cultural

hierarchies

we

those

at or near

the

on

reports

. . .would

then

summary,

simple

who

threaten

and

is about

and

most

audience,

For

society.

top of the hierarchy

to an

them,

that news

suggest
call nation

on

of whom

are located in the vastmiddle range between top and bottom" (1979, 284).
Moreover, according toGans, Eric Alterman, Deepa Kumar (2004), and others,
news

economic

in particular

is designed

citizens. Alterman

investor

for the

class

than

rather

for ordinary

(2003) observed in his analysis of media coverage of the 1990s

that
economy
journalists were lavish in their praise of the stockmarket during that
while
decade,
they ignored the fact thatmost Americans participated only marginally
if at all.8 Cohen cited a Newsweek cover story from July 1999 that proclaimed
"Everyone's Getting Rich but Me!" (Cohen 2000, 1), thatwent on to report that "the
income

give

business

thorny
more

workers

writer

business

remains

gap

businesses

for the New

for

reporters

stake"

York Times,

the

but

problem,
of

top

(Cohen
the

noted

that

with

"entwined"

investor
In

about

class

addition,

that

they cover

Gans

and

others

have

in

documented

in 1989

programs

and

and

thus write

more

is done

reporting

the workers

about

for

mainly

22).

2000,

(Henriques

than

of

business

In her view, these reportershave

that much

noted

national

(Gans

2003,

64;

2004, 71). This tilt toward the economic elite and away from the

Reporting (FAIR) by Jonathan Tasini,

news

citizens

side of the workplace

was

worker

people

for ordinary

see also McChesney

average

the wealthy

Henriques,

in the number

increase

fifty newspaper

than

the management

1-2).

2000,

markets

rather

Diana

as

out

spread

increasingly

striking

publications from 4,200 in 1988 to 12,000 in 2000.

become

is

wealth

directed

only

1990

for

study

Fairness

and

in

Accuracy

inwhich he reported the following: (1) nightly

2.3

of their

percent

to workers'

coverage

issues

and only 1.2 percent of network time to unions; (2) workers are frequentlypresented
in the

of

form

interviews

"person-in-the-street"

about

matters

culture

of popular

but

rarely interviewed about their own work lives; (3) the reduced television coverage of
workers

been

has

accompanied

by

an

in corporate-oriented

increase

and

programs;

(4)

the labor beat has been replaced by the "workplace" beat at many daily newspapers.
Diana Kendall also identifiedworkers and the middle class in her 2005 study of
media content as being "clearly under-represented groups" (2005, 139, 170 ff.).
Martin

Christopher
outlets

the

during

analyzed
and

1990s

many
found

stories

labor
a clear

by mainstream

reported

pro-consumer

pro-business,

media
that was

bias

often critical of labor (2004, 266-267).

Tasini
"growing

explained
gap

between

this
the

tilt toward
experience

coverage

of

the economic

of working

people

and

elite
those

in terms

of

reporting

the
on

them" (FAIR 1990, 1). In other words, many of the reporters at themost prestigious
news

outlets

are

themselves

members

of

the

economic

and

cultural

elite,

essentially

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American Prosperity
and the "Race to theBottom"139
"white, upper-middle classmales," as Tasini put it (FAIR 1990, 1). In his recent book,
Lou Dobbs (2006, 84) offered a similar admission that seventy percent of news
anchors and correspondents are based inNew York City andWashington DC.
Jacob

Hacker, Paul Pierson, Maria Elizabeth Grobe, and Trudy Lieberman, among others,
have suggested that political reporters tend to be socially liberal but economically
conservative (Lieberman 2000, 153; Hacker and Pierson 2005, 175; Grobe 2004). In

fact,Croteau's 1998 survey of representatives conducted for FAIR concluded that

most Washington
journalists occupy an elite income group: half of those polled in
1990 had incomes exceeding $100,000 while one-third had incomes exceeding
same

this

Moreover,

$150,000.

group

economic

perceived

at the

conditions

to

time

be much more favorable than did the rest of the population, which seems to have set
a rosier

tone

for their

quoted inCohen

then,

Arguably,
income

economic

their own

given

distribution,

many

of economic

reporting

on

reporting

conditions

(Croteau

economic

reporters

issues.

For

been

Hacker

example,

in the upper

standing

not

have

Pierson

examined

the

of

ranges

in

their

every

story

objective

completely

and

8-9; Croteau

1998,

2000, 3; see also Lieberman 2000, 154).9

written about the 2001 tax cut in USA Today and the New York Times. They found
that only six of the 78 stories inUSA Today, and seven of the 126 stories in the Times,
covered itsdistributional effects. By far themajor focuswas on the politics of the tax
cut and not itseconomic effects (Hacker and Pierson 2005, 177-78).
The

focus

news,

rather

might

be

of media

than

explained

on

coverage
the

by

current

financial,

concern

of most

issues

the

financial

pressures

and

corporate,

to ordinary
on media

middle

investment

class Americans,
to cut

corporations

costs

(McChesney 2004). The decline in economic news reporting is part of a larger trend
in a decline

in

resources

the

to news.

devoted

in particular,

Newspapers,

under

financial pressures from declining advertising dollars due to competition with the
internet

and

coverage.

to a recent

According

have

circulation,

declining

study,

reduced

large

resources

the

circulation

to news

devoted

reduced

papers

the percent

of

revenues devoted to news coverage by 14.3% during the period 1993 to 1997
compared to the 1988 to 1992 period, and staff reductions, especially in the
at some

newsroom,

of

Coverage
about

the declining
Gans

considerations.
media

issue

because

news

economic

have

newspapers
economic

does

fortunes

been

dramatic

several

scholars

of the middle
that

argued
in depth
not

also
as

news,

a mass

produce nor especially exciting to watch

common

journalistic

of data

practice

has

a method

cost

as a national
In his

Gans
of

same

neither

being

(Gans 2003, 66).

reduction,

by these

declined

model,

news

especially

is expensive.

reporting

production

1999).

argued,

constrained

crisis

class

news

economic

fit into

is also

class,

the middle

(Ureneck
have

view,

cheap

described

relying

on

pegs

to

the
or

proxies to determine the most newsworthy items (Gans 2003, 53), a practice that
effectively
immediately

guarantees
covered,

that
rather

the

topics

than

chosen

investigative

will

be

those

reporting

can be
and
quickly
term economic
trends

that

of long

(Gans 2003, 50 ff; see also Moyers 2005, 2). Gans also noted that it is simply cheaper

to

rely

on

government

readily
agencies

available
than

official
to dig

versions

for analyses

of

economic

by unions,

trends
academics

churned

out

or

tanks.10

think

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by

140 Deli P. Champlin and JanetT. Knoedler

Croteau's
journalists
their

news outlets also found that

1998 survey of journalists from major

were

more

much
on

than

reporting

likely

labor

rely on

to

or

government
or

representatives

consumer

sources

corporate

advocates

for
2001

(Croteau

8).
the

Thus,
sources
that,

"master

is rarely
over

seen

rhetoricians

in modern

and

of

the

The

politics.11

research

less

require

some

has

most

assumption
than

investigation

or

government

corporate

to note

It is important

narrative

this official

years,
includes

the

by

views.

competing

by

seven

which

administration,

releases

challenged

the past

constructed

narrative"

framed

been

in passing
the Bush

by

accomplished

spinners

and

by reporters

that official

press

sources

other

not

is certainly

Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson offer a glaring example in their recent book,
Off-Center:The Republican Revolutionand theErosion ofAmerican Democracy, where they
describe how George W. Bush's press team sold the 2003 tax cut by bringing in
valid.

business

to

lobbyists

don

hats

"hard

to

i.e.,

Pierson

2005,

were

economic

between

Distinctions

58).

advertising

political

the

when

leaked

types" (Hacker and

official

news,

eliminated

completely

one

what

impersonate

congressional leadership reportmemo called "REAL WORKER

information

Bush

and

administration

actually developed and issued fake news reports on Social Security and theMedicare
prescription drug plans to be broadcast on local news stations (Klinenberg 2007).12
The fourth explanation of these trends centers on the growth of politically
conservative

media.

Lieberman

has

as

such

talk

conservative

that

argued

that

the

lack

of

of

an

outcome

is the direct

class

media

right wing

recently

assert

groups

watchdog

the middle

of

problems

of overtly

presence

expanding
Trudy

the

and

authors

Several
to

attention

media

Fox

and

radio

News.

have

tanks

think

used

"aggressive strategies" (2000, 3) to push their ideological premises and policy stances
into mainstream

media

flat tax, medical

discourse,

savings
these

despite

of the extreme

and

accounts,
also Cohen

the

Social

such

put

as eccentric

In Lieberman's

as

ideas

the

into mainstream

privatization
seen

been

3-4).

2000,

has

right wing

Security

once

all having

theories

(see

right

a result,

As

outlets.

schemes

policy

"conservative

view,

groups have learned to boil down theirmessages to fit the new model of sound bite
journalism, leaving the details for theweighty studies and policy analyses disseminated
in more

venues"

elite
sheer

"Through

economics,

successfully

everything

from

2000,

schools

To

9).

an unrelenting

used

lower

deregulation,

privatizing

and

perseverance

have

organizations

(Lieberman

to further

the press

taxes,

their

and

this

point,

to ideology,

right-wing

of

laissez-faire

agenda

resources

redistributing

to street cleaning,

on

Lieberman

quote

commitment

from
?
above
all

to

poor

rich,

delegitimizing

government" (Lieberman 2000, 14). Similarly, in PeddlingProsperity,Paul Krugman

(1994) tried to decipher the lessons of the Reagan-Bush years for economists. He
that

argued

"professors"
mainstream
argue

that

promoting

"policy

entrepreneurs"
to qualify
prefer

who

promise

simple

solutions,

as opposed

to the

their
by most
explanations,
on to
went
state
to
of
the
the
media
outlets
economy.
Krugman
explain
were
intent on
in the late 70s and 80s, most
of these "policy entrepreneurs"
who

conservative

economic

cautious

ideas

by

asserting

will

that

be

free market,

used

supply-side

policies would "get themagic back" (Krugman 1994, 9, 12). Arguably, the rightwing
has figuredout how to "play" themedia.
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American Prosperity
and the "Race to theBottom"141

as Krugman

prosperity,"

were

about

war

propaganda
"...

linked,

closely

were

what

to the rise of economic

its origin

news

reporting

The message of the freemarket and American prosperity

the

of

part

economics

it, owes

puts

during the Cold War.

became

to "peddle

(2006) argues that this tendency of the media

Andrew Yarrow

core

and

valued

the

against

the messages

Soviet

Union.

Patriotism

in the press

conveyed

of Americanness'

qualities

and

and

elsewhere

to economic

shifted

virtues, such as the country's high, rising, and broadly diffused standard of living as
well as itseconomic dynamism and growth" (Yarrow 2006, 59).13 It isnot hard to see
the same

at the flag-waving

dynamic

Fox News

network

and

conservative

other

outlets

where criticisms ofAmerica of any kind are viewed as unpatriotic (Cf. Champlin
Knoedler 2006).
Moreover,

to Hacker

according

and

the expanding

Pierson,

conservative

and

media

empire, headed by Fox News and talk radio, has been willing to coordinate their
message with the rightwing think tanks and key rightwing political operatives, thus
these

amplifying

conservative

economic

and

(Hacker

messages

Pierson

2005,

see

180;

also Moyers 2005).

In sum, while

the observations

and

news

of economic

studies

discussed

coverage

in this sectionmake valid points, we believe that institutional economics can provide
a more

In the following

picture.

complete

we

section,

examine

economic

alternative

models of themedia and evaluate theirusefulness forunderstanding the failure of the

news

to cover

media

one

of

the most

issues

important

of

current

the

century

the

growth of inequality and the decline of themiddle class.14

Alternative Models
In

this

causes

contrast

the news.

From
to

sale

three

that

consumer

this vantage

consumers

is not

but
commodity
an institutionalist

to explain
We

then

move

to

tool

to

designed

"manufacture
scant media

that views

the
from

the content

of

a product
model

propaganda

In this view, the news

and Noam Chomsky (1988).

model

view

the

offering

the

of

coverage

determines

is a business

media

We

the
with

begin

ultimately

the news

advertisers.
a

decline.

sovereignty

point,

and

associated with Edward Herman

formulate

class

Industry

models

competing

of middle

consequence
economics

orthodox

for

we

section,
and

of theMedia

consent."

Finally,

we
news

of economic

coverage

in general and the middle class crisis in particular as part of a larger failure of the

news media,

and

service

above

all business

indeed,

to pecuniary

goals,

enterprises,
and

also

to place

explains

the

service

to the public

interest

of consumers

compliance

of

media.

The neoclassical model offers some useful insights. Assuming thatmarkets are
effectively

of media
Swinnen

consumer

sovereignty

coverage (Mullainathan
and

the 22%
Middle

competitive,
Franchen

2005,

40).

increase in Lou Dobbs'

Class"

segment

may

indicate

does,

in theory,

determine

and Shleifer 2002; Hamilton

In fact,

if consumer

sovereignty

the content

2004,

160-161;

plays

a role,

subject,

among

then

ratings since the inception of his "War on the

a growing

interest

in this

viewers at least (Auletta 2006, 68): as Ken Auletta put it recently, "CNN

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his

seems to

142 Ddl P Champlin and JanetT. Knoedler

have

on

a we're

adopted

as a way

stance

side'

your

68).

In other words, ifconsumers demand

class,

media

would

providers

to boost

(Auletta

ratings"

2006,

information on the plight of themiddle

accordingly

content.

such

supply

In

similar

vein,

Hamilton explained that political and government news that might benefit the
general public is often unread or unviewed by consumers due to the "small chance
that an individual's political action can influence events" (Hamilton 2004, 2) ? a
form of "rational

in his view.

ignorance,"

This notion of effectivecompetition may at firstblush seem hopelessly at odds

with

the

concentration

unprecedented

Nonetheless,

commentators

many

and

and

of

conglomeration
makers

policy

that

argue

media.

today's

vast

the

and

expanding array ofmedia products ranging fromhundreds of cable channels available

via

to the expansion

satellite

and

journals,

magazines,

more

consumers

choice

access

of on-line
to

the growing

than

to U.S.

In other

ever.15

and

of

presence
words,

international

the

so-called

newspapers,
give

blogosphere,

a substantial

of news

amount

is

still produced and delivered to consumers, but the content of that news is of
economic necessity heavily driven by ratings and advertisers (Hamilton 2004, 101 ff.).
Ratings spikes during events like the alleged kidnapping ofNatalee Holloway and the
Michael Jackson trialwill lead news producers to expand thatkind of coverage; ratings
dips when
kind

news

to serious

turn

they

of coverage.

convince

them
on

the twin pressures,

Moreover,

that consumers
the one

not want

do

that
to

advertisers

from

hand

capture the elusive 18 to 35 year-old male demographic or the 18 to 49 year-old

female demographic (Hamilton 2004, 71, 188-189) and on the other hand from
theme

to squeeze

CEOs

corporate

movie

and

parks

same

the

diminish

lurid and less profitable plight of the middle

consumer
seem
of
who

seems

choice

to prefer

even

However,
"choice"
ultimately,
the

can

(Hamilton

seen within

illusory
only a few corporate
have

heads

such

standard

a few examples

content.

this expansion

of consumer

concentration

ensures

of most

the content
in most

oligopoly
?
"local"

media

the dry analysis

consumers
whereas

eclectic

context,

created

less

over

ff.; 238-239),16

of media

degree

their

the

of mainstream

news

"softer"

that more

determine
been

have

list but

To

choice.

to

led

high

from

to cover

In this context, therefore,

consumers

71

2004,
to find

the neoclassical

the

that

markets

concentration

of celebrity

trials or

surf the web

because

oligopolistic

consumer

trends

news

serious

is

juicy details

economic

long-term
want

the

content:

as

divisions

incentive

any

class.

determined

to have

their news

from

profits

further

divisions,

media

sectors
as

outcomes
news

media.

that
Thus,

from

this

restriction

of

produced

by

segments

Sinclair's corporate headquarters (Rogers 2003), elimination of the less profitable

investigative journalism and international coverage (McChesney 1999, 51 ff.;Croteau
and

2001),

Hoynes

passive
mainstream
modern

"competition"

by most

coverage
media.
media

and

media

In point
industry

has

along
of

outlets

safer,
the

imitative
lead-up

of fact, the concentration

had

a perverse

effect

lines,
to

the

as

seen

Iraq

war

and
on

with
by

the
the

of the

conglomeratization
news
(McChesney
reporting

2004; Bagdikian 2004; Fenton 2000). Submerged intomedia empires, news providers
are now

under

pressure

to yield

the same

rates of profit

as the entertainment

divisions

also owned by themedia empires (Bagdikian 2004). Thus, ABC News must earn the

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American

Prosperity and

to the Bottom"

the "Race

143

same rate of profit as Disney World while CNN must earn the same rate of profit as
Warner Records (seeUreneck 1999; Bagdikian 2004).
to

contrast

In

this neoclassical

a propaganda

model,

model

the media

of

has

been articulated by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, and extended by others
In their view, the media serves "to
(Parenti 1993; Jackson and Stanfield 2004).
mobilize

interests

for the special

support

is seen

model

propaganda
society,

many

in our

and

corporate

remains

society

come

reporters

to

as being
of

organs

more

private

activity,"

1988, xi).17This
in a democratic

insidious
in

propaganda

as

Putin's

or

Russia

believe

In particular,

values
the

and

as

that

in other

the
that

they argue

of
judgments
as the means

system

. . in the
media,

".

state,

and Chomsky

view.

from

the principal
run
who

interests

they

Herman

choice,

hidden

internalize

government

success:

professional

official

of consumer

freedom

suppress

censorship

(Hermann

its proponents

by
the

and

and Chomsky

Iran. Rather than official, and obvious, forms of censorship that

Ahmadinejad's
openly

to

contrast

in

the state

that dominate

in effect, to "manufacture consent"

the

elite

to

their

institutions,

major

those who do not display the requisite values and perspectives will be regarded as
'irresponsible,'

or otherwise

'ideological,'

. . . .;
[t]hose

aberrant

who

adapt,

perhaps

quite honestly, will then be free to express themselveswith littlemanagerial control,

they will

and

be

to

able

assert,

that

accurately,

no

perceive

they

to

pressures

conform" (Herman and Chomsky 1988, 304).

the

Within

of

confines

filters are asserted

official
terms

content

and

of media

of

and

religion
We

discourse:

to use

the media

a means
control

by Hermann
interests

and

and

five

Chomsky,
to control

in society

the conglomeration

(1)

rather

the media;

mechanism"

and

profit

of

than

own

their

the

expectations

this propaganda

a national

as

2).

1988,

model

(4)

reporting;

anticommunism

(5)

and Chomsky

(Hermann

the elements

that

sources

official

of disciplining

believe

seen

by the moneyed

(2) the reliance on corporate advertising for revenue; (3) the

of the major media;

tendency
"flak' as

as

the media,

to be used

some

have

merit.

The

central story line of the rich getting richer and the rest fallingbehind, would highlight
rather

than

filtered

out.

conceal

that

observes

control

agree with

it" and

media"

critics

is overly

"consumers

radicals

in our

power

of the propaganda

model

of whether

important
questions
...
so many
"why
people,

and

money
such

the propaganda

the

address

society,
model

and

simplistic
are always

of media

to consume

love

included,

is

thus

as Cynthia
and does not
by

duped

commercial

(Kaufman 2003, 256).

In our
media

who

we

However,

who

Kaufman,

those

the propaganda

view,

consumers

in buying

model

does

not

sufficiently

In fact, both

these messages.

explain

the neoclassical

the

role

model

of
and

the propaganda model fall short in offering insights into the demand side. We offer,
instead, an institutionalistmodel thatblends the useful elements of both of the above
models

and

assigns

society. Within
pecuniary
as media

the

enterprise,
enterprises

an

active

role

institutionalist
and

thus no

were

to
mode,
longer

structured

consumer

the

of media
news

the modern
organized
by

around

journalistic

regulations a century ago (Klinenberg 2007,

our

within

the public
practices

17 ff.). The

modern

is primarily

corporation

service
and

interests

government

institutionalistmodel,

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144 De^ P Champlin and JanetT. Knoedler

situates

also

moreover,

the modern

in an

media

by the media

served

that

paper

that use

companies

on Veblen's

Drawing

the

interests

that

to

that helps

interest be

that the public

airwaves.

the public

of business

analysis

pecuniary

context

evolutionary

explain why consumers, seemingly, no longer demand

we

enterprise,

in an

argued

media

operate

earlier
advance

corporations

profitabilityat the expense of the public interest (Champlin and Knoedler 2002). The
interests within

business

media

interests.
media
Thus,
public
?
the
dominant
by
captured

enterprise,

as with

any other

institutions

tend

to sympathize
in particular

interests,

pecuniary

Moreover,

the

sources,
of

supply

over

interests

pecuniary,

the

concentrated

of media

ownership

infotainment

a decreased

and

as

interest,

public

has

has

they are now

is selling
of

by many

to

time

things.
or

business,

documented

over

serious

of

supply

been
led

to be

indeed,

because

interest
whose
corporations
primary
by multi-media
seen
a Veblenian
of the dominance
through
analysis

owned

mostly

an

increased

international

news,

the

dominate

enterprise,
?
with

news,

and investigative journalism (Champlin and Knoedler 2002; Jackson and Stanfield
2004). In service to these pecuniary interests, the quantity and content of the news
supplied by themainstream press has been tilted toward news that is sensationalistic,
and

ratings-enhancing,

we

model,

propaganda
of

analysis

cheaply

produced.

this analysis of the production side of media may be consistent with the

While

the trend

believe

toward

the

that

institutionalist
The

conglomeration.

Enterprise

that

operations

to

increase

at all,

content
Put

media

they will
the

differently,

sense

the

of media

consolidation

to

of

industrial

for media

content

is to make
Veblen's
?
a
it

citizenry.
described

he

into multi

corporations
as mere

operations

business

the

that

news

most

main

whose

is useful

that
in

here

relevant

interstices

need

so.

rendered

enterprises,

content

media

the

the public

if they can increase profits by providing no useful

ongoing

has

conglomerations

entertainment

do

analysis in The TheoryofBusiness

to control

seek

to serve

not

their profits,

(Veblen 1978, 8 ff.). Moreover,

media

will

of business

the captains

over

of the media

conglomeration

the past two decades is fullyconsistent with Veblen's

for a deeper

allows

analysis

to larger
adjuncts
not
to produce
is also
of sabotage

money,
theory

conscientious

withdrawal

of

efficiency,with efficiencydefined here as providing useful information to the public

(Champlin and Knoedler 2006). The control of the intersticesof all aspects ofmedia
?

by media

conglomerations
of all manner
distribution

enterprises
large media
? means
that

of content

assigned to news divisions as a quid pro quo

airwaves

has

been

content

that

seems

their

resources

declining
active

to

middle

to garner

class,

focus

the many

on

in order
find

Put

ratings.

investigate

instead

citizenry,
This

largely

in favor

abandoned

itmore

the profitability

profitable
of

the more
vast

succinctly,
and

ratings

and

production

interest

the public

once

function

for the networks' use of the public

of

and

political

to inform

both

that control

also,

and

perhaps,

could

complexities

to mobilize

perhaps

entertaining

that

enterprises

economic

to entertain

or

salacious

them

amuse
explains

of

use
the

into a more

them.
the particular

form for coverage ofmiddle class issues such as those showcased by Lou Dobbs where
he wages

"an

unending

battle

against

the corporate

imperialists,

whom

he blames

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for

American
an untenable

increase

in illegal

to the Bottom"

the "Race

Prosperity and

a destabilization

immigration,

145

of the middle

and

class,

an erosion of national sovereignty" (Pappu 2007, 44). The personality journalism of

the ilk presented by celebrity hosts like Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, and Glenn Beck
the darker

reflects
demand:

hosts

these

of

side

the

offer

mainly

media

conglomeratized
opinions,

and

sharply

to consumer

catering

simply

entertainingly

be

expressed,

they about the latest blond in peril or about illegal immigrants,and seem to increase
ratings at the expense of information (cf.Lemann 2006, 32 ff.;Auletta 2006).
turn

To

and

entertainment

an

from

than

most

of news?

function

self-evident
The

from

relevant

seemingly
consumers

We

increasingly
for titillation

believe

the

question,
with

the

acquiesce

to

this

that

are

two

content

there

explanations.
consumers

First,

of

the

choices

of media

products;

choices

restricted

by media

and

the proven

and

thus

choices

recently

observed,

so good

at providing

Ureneck

of

in the collective
powerful

are good

citizens

what

economic

The

to make

the opportunity
model,

oligopoly
But

at giving

the special

given

rational

consumers

find

nature

of the media

motive,

toward

they want.
in a democracy"
in a pecuniary
what

citizens

consumers

class,

drive

consumers
to be

consumers

because

the leisure

interest.

have

they need

Second,

to emulate

enculturated

for

infotainment

19).

not

their

to mold
the very culture,
large media
conglomerates
consumers
are not
its own
products,
really making
over
news.
economic
As Michael
Sandel
important

these

"markets

1999,

do

in a standard

conglomerates.
?

"demand"

"news"

as

of

ability

the

rational

most

interest

of the public

abandonment

news.

consumers

do

seems

point

salacious

are

is: why
standpoint
to them?
Why

is provided

of media,
to media

look

classes,

This

cover

channels

consumers

demand,

pecuniary

information.

news

cable

institutionalist
that

media

related

the dominant

rather

spikes when

ratings

of consumer

to the question
to emulate

enculturated

a distorted

absorb

emulation
the underlying

prevents

view

are

of what

is

is the

argued,
from

population

in

(quoted
society

as Veblen

that,

aren't

They

"opposing

the leisure class in class conflict" (Dugger 2000, 39) and instead leaves themwanting
to be

like

the dominant

have

become

with

the

more

leisure

class

rather

than

class.

means

(Schor

the world

Media

by which

1999).

to prefer mainstream

likely

emulate

leisure

the primary

an

from

Thus,

content

media
in which

of

representations

the moneyed

consumers

less affluent

institutionalist
that presents
live.

they actually

come

into

classes
contact

consumers

view,

are

they seek to
they are in turn

the world
Hence,

more likely to be drawn to the kind of news that focuses on the interestsof the elite,
primarily

entertainment,

business

and military

their hopes
and dreams
of ascending
on
causes
the
and consequences
clearly
over

the past

consumers
To

thirty years would

that their dreams

sum

up,

instead

of emulation

the neoclassical

model

rather

news,

to the upper

the declining
tend to indicate
will
that

ultimately
consumers

news

that challenges

News

that

instead

fortunes

of

the middle

classes.

of

than

to the vast majority

be

focused
class
of news

frustrated.
get

the kind

of news

they

desire is often touted by the rightwing because it serves their interests. Yet it is clear
that rightwing views are more often heard (McChesney 1999; Bagdikian 2004;
Lieberman 2000) and that themarketplace of ideas is dysfunctional when monopoly
interests,

profitability,

and

right wing

co-option

are

at work

in slanting

the

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

"news"

146 Dell P. Champlin and JanetT Knoedler

a consuming
to this mixture
this happy master
narrative.
Add
that is
public
a
race
vast
in
of
The
of
of
emulation
the
classes.
leisure
majority
caught up
perpetual
vast
consumers
the
of news are not choosing
the product
and
consume,
majority
they
are not
most
of news operations
the product
needed
by their consumers.
producing
toward

Class America?

Middle

In the 2004 best-seller,What's the

Matter withKansas?, Thomas
so many

and

middle

income

lower

vote

Americans

Frank wondered why

their own

against

economic

best

interest.
.

. [T]he

more

seems

country

like

of madness

panorama

and

delusion worthy of Hieronymous Bosch: of sturdyblue-collar patriots

reciting the Pledge while they strangle their own life chances; of small
farmersproudly voting themselves off the land; of devoted familymen
carefully seeing to it that their children will never be able to afford
or proper

college

health

care;

of working-class

cities

in midwestern

guys

cheering as they deliver up a landslide for a candidate whose policies

will end theirway of life,will transform their region into a "rust belt,"
will strike people like them blows fromwhich theywill never recover

(10).

Frank

that

suggests

the answer

that another

suggest

news

economic

issues

many

be

may

explanation
a rigorous

and

in a cultural

found

be

may

the news

of economic

examination

by the mainstream

we

is inadequate,

media

failure

to provide
While

policies.

that

believe

we

In this paper,

backlash.

media's

adequate
of

coverage

of the

the neglect

middle class crisis is particularly significant. The trends adversely affecting themiddle
class that began in the late 1970s and early 1980s have not abated, but rather
The

accelerated.

assurances

smug

of conservatives

that market

neoliberals

and

forces,

education and retrainingwill take care of those leftbehind have proven not only
overly optimistic but ineffective.As Harold Meyerson, columnist for theWashington
Post, put it, "nothing short of a radical reordering of our economy will suffice ifwe're
to save our beleaguered middle class majority" (March 22, 2006). The question now
the press will

iswhether

of the middle

the recovery

class

or

its demise.

the broad majority of Americans face real economic struggleswith debt,

While

to health

access

to cover

decide

an uncertain

and

care,

economic

the media

future,

presents

us with

their stylized version of the middle class American worried about the vague and
gathering threat of moral and cultural decay and fearfulof the inexorable march of
progress

through
and

culture

the media

collar
the

professional
two

segments

gave

us

or middle
of

prosperity

manager
broad

middle

and

for most

class

the middle

the economic

fueled

determination

In contrast,

globalization.18

o{

the

the blue
class

achievements of all time" (Beatty 1994). When

the 20th

of

whose

American

that

nation

collar
was

century,
hard

as a whole.

factory worker
"one

of

the

popular

work
The

and
white

represented
great

social

polled, the vast majority ofAmericans

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

American Prosperity
and the "Race to theBottom"147
still consider themselvesmiddle class (Zweig 2000; Pressman 2007, 183) even though
theyhave been transformed from the drivers of economic prosperity to the victims of
it.

Notes
1.
2.

See, for example, the New York Times series in 2005, published
Wessel 2005.
Gore

as Class Matters, Times Books, 2005;

describes

the exhaustive discussions, analyses and debates that take place over the "serial
that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time" (2007, 3). Endless debates
and analyses occur on the minutiae of celebrity news or gossip. Intense scrutiny is devoted to O.J.
less analysis, fact-checking, and debate
Simpson, Jon Benet Ramsey, and Michael Jackson. Much
takes place on public policy issues with far-reaching consequences such as war and national security,

obsessions

3.

the environment, or the influence of wealth. Gore notes thatmedia coverage of Hurricane Katrina
provided a stark contrast to the usual media coverage of social issues: "in the immediate aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, there was for a very short time a quality of vividness and clarity of focus in our
?
? that
vividness and
public discourse that reminded some Americans
including some journalists
to
more
common
we
one
used
in
be
the
talk
with
another
about
the
way
clarity
problems and the
choices thatwe face. But then, like a passing summer storm, themoment faded" (Gore 2007, 2).
Scholars have long debated the question of what exactly constitutes the middle class, whether
middle class is defined in relative or absolute terms, in sociological or economic terms, whether

surveys inwhich respondents self-identifyclass are accurate reflections of the true class structure (cf.
2006). We also believe that the objection to
Zweig 2000, Ch. 1; Pressman 2007, 182-183; Weller
defining the middle class in clear terms is a reflection of the reluctance on the part of many
conservative scholars to discuss the existence of income inequality. We note that, with the latest
SurveyofConsumer Finances, conservatives are no longer arguing that there has been no worsening of
wealth distribution. As Bartels notes:
past thirty years have seen a substantial increase in economic inequality in the
United States. The exact magnitude and timing of this increase depend on exactly how
one defines economic inequality, but a variety of
plausible measures suggest that the
income gap between rich and poor has widened considerably. For
example, the Gini
coefficient for the distribution of individual earnings of full-timeworkers increased by
almost 25 percent (from .326 to .406) between 1970 and 2000, while the income share

The

4.

of the richest five percent of U.S. households increased by more than one-third (from
15.8 percent to 21.5 percent) between 1980 and 2000. (Bartels 2004, 1)

information is based on a search of the ProQuest newspaper index of sixmajor newspapers (New
York Times, Washington Post, theWall StreetJournal,USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los
Angeles
Times) on key words: inequality and income or wealth. See Table 1.

This

Table

1.Number
Wealth

ofArticles byMainstream

Newspaper

Number
Newspaper
New York
Times_31_68_
Washington
Post_15_44_
Wall Street
Journal_3_9_
USA
Today_5_2_
Chicago
Tribune_6_10_
Los Angeles
Times_24_24
Total

Outlets

on the Subjects of Income and

Inequality

ofArticles

to
_1/1/1997 1/1/2002

(excluding LA Times)_60_133_

Number

of articles

1/1/2002-6/8/2007

Total_84_157_

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148 Dell P. Champlin and JanetT. Knoedler

5.

6.

7.

series, titled "Class Matters," ran in the New York Times inMay and early June 2005, and was
later published in a book of the same title (Correspondents of the New York Times 2005). This
series is important, because the New York Times, as the leading national newspaper, "sets the agenda

The

for what network television and other national newspapers will report on for that day and the
next" (Fogarty 2005, 155).
The May
in the Wall Street Journal even uses the market forces of
13, 2005 article by Wessel
globalization and technological change to argue against activist policy to reverse the trends, noting

that government policy to address the decline in the minimum wage or to address the health care
crisis,would, according to some politicians, "do unacceptably large damage to economic growth."
The master narrative is a term adapted by Eric Alterman from Joan Didion's
Political Fictions to
describe how a "consensus narrative" is developed and then used by reporters for the major media

to frame all future discussions.

The
"master narrative" is "comprised of numerous
'understandings, tacit agreements, large and small, to overlook the observable in explaining a
dramatic story line"' (Didion 2001, 37, quoted inAlterman 2003, 151). In her own book, Didion
to maintain the illusion of consensus by
goes on to explain that this narrative is "designed ...
obscuring rather than addressing actual issues" (41).
To quote Alterman on this point, "the single-minded focus on wealth creation' crowded out
concerns for virtually everything that might be perceived to interferewith it, such as workers' pay,
outlets

8.

destruction, equity issues, and as investors found to their deep chagrin, honest
accounting" (Alterman 2003, 123).
We note here that Brian Fogarty's analysis of economic content in the New York Times between 1980
and 1996 found that the media emphasized negative economic news, specifically, increases in the
indicators such as
unemployment rate. However, his study focused on standard macroeconomic
environmental

9.

unemployment, inflation, and a composite of economic growth indicators (Fogarty 2005, 155-157).
As Wallace
Peterson has argued, simply looking at the standard macroeconomic
indicators fails to

10.
11.
12.

plumb the depth of the crisis affecting theU.S. middle class (Peterson 1994).
See also Grobe 2004, 11. We note in passing that the inaccessibility of most professional economics
literature for the general public undoubtedly exacerbates this trend.
Michael Gerson and David Frum, two former speechwriters for George W.
Bush, have been
especially noteworthy for their flourishing rhetoric.
It has been suggested that the inaccurate coverage of economic news, especially news about such

long-term and complex subjects as the fortunes of the American middle class, is due to the
complexity of language and technique used by neoclassical economists in their academic research on
such subjects. David Hamermesh recently instructed academic economists to speak to the media "in
a
of above-average
that their high-school
graduate
nephew
language
intelligence can
understand" (Hamermesh 2004, 373). Of course, there is danger in over-simplifying economic

explanations: Hamermesh goes on to cite a "very senior economics professor (who) was noted for
(and for giving) a very simplistic supply-demand
talking to any media outlet about anything ....
a member of the
In addition, Michael Weinstein,
analysis of any issue" (Hamermesh 2004, 374).
New York Times editorial board in the early 1990s, observed that those who have become engaged
in public discussions of economic issues often do so for financial remuneration rather than to serve

13.

the public need for economic literacy, and thus the journalist's task of "finding a disinterested
?
even
to take a wide-angled
view becomes
irrelevant ?
and able
scholar willing
Herculean"
(Weinstein 1992, 76).
Yarrow argues that prior toWorld War
II, most financial reporting was confined to narrow
reporting on prominent business leaders and individual businesses. After the war, newspapers and

financial magazines such as Fortune, Forbes, and BusinessWeek began to take a broader perspective on
the economy. Newspapers and general interest magazines such as Life, Time, and Newsweek also
began to cover the national economy for the general audience. Until the late 1960s, however, the
"big story"was American economic growth and prosperity of themiddle classes. At the height of the
the relentless message of good economic news took on explicitly political overtones
Cold War,

(Yarrow 2006, 59). Yarrow also notes that a key part of themessage was that everyone shared in this
prosperity. The only "class" inAmerica was the middle class, as workers or the working class were
redefined as consumers (68-69). This view is echoed by Michael Zweig who notes that a twice-daily
show was produced by the United Autoworkers in the 1950s that provided news toworkers on their

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and the "Race to theBottom"149

American Prosperity
union, the auto industry, and the "larger economy . . . from the point of view of working
people" (Zweig 2000, 137). However, this program was not carried by U.S. radio stations, even then,
The United Autoworkers ceased production of this
and had to be broadcast out of Canada.

14.

program in the 1960s.

We note two additional

factors thatmay indicate other problems with the news media. Readership
of newspapers has declined dramatically over the past four decades, falling to 54% in 2005 from a
high of 81% in the mid-1960s
(Cornog 2005, 43), roughly the period of economic decline and
growing inequality for the middle class. Newspapers have tried to halt this trend by offering more
celebrity news and devoting more pages to entertainment topics. This same period has seen a
in viewership for the three nightly newscasts for the three major networks of 44% since
1980. Evan Cornog notes that these declines are worrisome, in particular the decline in newspaper
reading, "given the close correlation between newspaper reading and active citizenship" (Cornog

decline

15.

16.

17.

2005, 44).
This argument has been made
See Powell quoted
Commission.
Hamilton 2004, 4, 107 ff.

by the former chairman of the Federal Communications

in Champlin
and Knoedler 2002.
See also Klineberg 2007;

As one example, the Columbia JournalismReview reports that 22 percent of total cable news airtime
was devoted to the Anna Nicole Smith story from the time of her death to the funeral, and 32
airtime. During the same time, eleven percent of cable airtime was
percent of Fox News Channel's

devoted to the presidential election that was still eighteen months away. See Anonymous,
"Hard
Numbers" Columbia JournalismReview 46, 1 (2007): 15.
In a similar vein, Michael Parenti has written that the job of the press is ". . .not to produce an alert,
critical and informed citizenry but the kind of people who will accept an opinion universe
dominated

18.

by corporate and governmental elites, almost all of whom share the same ideological
perspective about political and economic reality" (Parenti 1993, 8).
For example, the middle class has been split into "Middle America," a cultural rather than an
economic label, and "working families," an economic term that is used by Lou Dobbs and others to
fuel the cultural wars.

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