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Episode 191: How Media's Use of 'The Economy' Flattens Class Conflict

Added 2023-11-01 16:42:06 +0000 UTC

“Writers Strike Fallout: $2B Economic Impact May Be Just the Beginning,” the Hollywood Reporter states. “Looming UAW strike could cost US economy more than $5B in just 10 days,” Fox Business announces. “In a Strong Economy, Why Are So Many Workers on Strike?” the New York Times wonders.

We’re regularly exposed to news media’s updates on some vague notion of “the economy.” Though it’s never really defined, “the economy,” we’re told, is something that will suffer if a work stoppage happens, even though striking workers might stand a chance to reap some real economic benefits. It’s also something that somehow does just fine, even thrives, despite rising homelessness, poverty, food insecurity, and general stress and anxiety among the public about their ability to afford basic needs.

Against all of this, pundits wonder why people in the US have doubts about the strength of the economy, when, by their standards, it’s doing so well. But when “the economy” is at odds with the interests of the working public, what does that tell us about media’s understanding and use of the term? Whose interests are truly reflected in mainline media’s definitions, or lack thereof, of the economy?

On this episode, we examine media’s use of the term and concept of “the economy,” looking at how and why metrics reflecting the interests of capital– like the GDP, the Dow, or IMF reports–are positioned as more important and accurate indicators of economic strength than metrics reflecting the needs of the average person. And how “the economy” is presented as a fragile precious thing that striking workers, protestors, and those seeking to interrupt the normal flow of life want to avoid damaging, at all costs.

Our guest is writer Kim Kelly.

Guest

Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) is journalist, author, and organizer based in Philadelphia. She is a labor columnist for Teen Vogue and Fast Company, and her writing on labor, class, politics, and culture has appeared in In These Times, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Baffler, The Nation, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Esquire, among many other publications. Kelly has also worked as a video correspondent for More Perfect Union, The Real News Network, and Means TV. She is the author of Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor, published by One Signal/Atria Books.

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Show Notes

UAW strike: Everything you need to know about the fight between autoworkers and the Big Three

Kim Kelly | October 17, 2023 | Fast Company

Media Turns Random Trump Campaign Rally in Detroit Into “Trump Standing With Striking Autoworkers” Headlines

Adam Johnson | September 22, 2023 | The Column

The Conflicted Analysis of What an Auto Workers Strike Would ‘Cost’

Sarah Lazare | August 23, 2023 | Workday Magazine

The United Auto Workers Meet Electrification

Jarod Facundo | August 21, 2023 | The American Prospect

Bidenomics Isn’t Working For Working People

Stephen Semler | August 15, 2023 | The Lever

Americans Feel Negative About Biden’s Economy Because There’s a Lot to Feel Negative About

Branko Marcetic | July 18, 2023 | Jacobin

US hunger rates rise as pandemic aid ends, data shows

Leah Douglas | June 28, 2023 | Reuters

The Young Miners Dying of “An Old Man’s Disease”

Kim Kelly | May 17, 2023 | In These Times

Union of Southern Service Workers Is Organizing Low-Wage Workers Across Industries

Kim Kelly | March 20, 2023 | Teen Vogue

Child Tax Credit expansions were instrumental in reducing poverty rates to historic lows in 2021

Elise Gould | September 22, 2022 | Economic Policy Institute

What Does the Word Radical Mean? Addressing the Root of a Problem

Kim Kelly | March 22, 2022 | Teen Vogue

Symbol of ’80s Greed Stands to Profit From Trump Tax Break for Poor Areas

Eric Lipton and Jesse Drucker | October 26, 2019 | The New York Times

In a Strong Economy, Why Are So Many Workers on Strike?

Noam Scheiber | October 19, 2019 | The New York Times

Right to strike would level the playing field for public workers, with benefits for all of us

James Myall | April 17, 2019 | Maine Center for Economic Policy

Most Jobs Created Since 2005 Are Nontraditional

Ben Popken | December 8, 2016 | NBC News

Stockpiling, Webisodes and a Reality Check: The Economic Impact of the 2007 Writer’s Strike on LA [PDF]

Jerry Nickelsburg | November 26, 2007 | UCLA Anderson Forecast

The Coal Strike: A Rite of Passage For Presidents Since World War II

Harold J. Logan and a Washington Post Staff Writer | February 21, 1978 | The Washington Post

How Economic Jargon and Cliches Make Cruel, Anti-Poor Policies Sound Sterile and Science-y (Part I)

Episode 150 | December 1, 2021 | Citations Needed

How Economic Jargon and Cliches Make Cruel, Anti-Poor Policies Sound Sterile and Science-y (Part II)

Episode 151 | December 18, 2021 | Citations Needed

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Transcript

For a full transcript of this episode, go here. You can find transcripts of past episodes and News Briefs here.

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