Happy News from the Corporate Media

There was some good news today. Northwest Arkansas was named by Sperling’s Best Places as the top affordable place to live and work in the United States, edging out such highly desirable places to live as Idaho Falls, Idaho, Logan, Utah, and Fargo, North Dakota. NWA got points because the median home price is $212,300, and the cost of living is 93% of the U. S. average.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Richard Massey made sure that the local reaction was fair and balanced, as they say. He got happy quotes from Perry Webb, executive director of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, and Raymond Burns, president of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce. "Large employers like Tyson Foods Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc." were also noted by Massey for their contributions to the local economy.

No local hourly employees or social service agencies were interviewed for their reaction to the good news. There was no mention of the shortage of affordable housing for hourly wage workers; no acknowledgment that Arkansas median household income is about 80% of the national average. Those are important voices and a couple of essential things that could have been included in a journalistic celebration of the area as an affordable place to live and work. Pretending that they don't matter or exist is another option.