Linda Austin

10 stories on your local economy to jump on now – MoJo’s Josh Harkinson

Occupy Wall Street protesters at Zuccotti Park in New York City display signs for passers-by on Oct. 15, 2011.

DETROIT – Mother Jones reporter Josh Harkinson spent last fall in New York City covering Occupy Wall Street. It was a heady time, with hundreds of people occupying a park near Wall Street, carrying signs such as “Eat the Rich!” and demanding more for the 99 percent not among the nation’s wealthiest.

While the tents and chanting crowds are gone, Harkinson still sees good local stories on the economy inspired by Occupy’s message about income inequality.

The former Houston Press writer offered 10 local story ideas on the economy to jump on now at the Reynolds Center’s June 7 workshop on Covering Your Local Economy: It’s Everybody’s Business. It kicked off the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s 35th Annual Convention.

His ideas follow:

Handout with links to resources and story examples (PDF) | PowerPoint presentation is also below.

This illustration appeared with Joe O'Sullivan's story in The Pacific Northwest Inlander in Spokane.

1. Localize the inequality story. An example of such a story well-grounded in data is “Back to Work: Meet the Region’s Skilled but Undervalued Workers” by Joe O’Sullivan in The Pacific Northwest Inlander, an alt-weekly based in Spokane, Wash. Another such story is “Pulling Apart: The Piedmont Triad’s Rapidly Expanding Income Gap” in YES! Weekly by Jordan Green, based on a Stanford University study on growing segregation by income from 1970 to 2009.
2. Tell the story of a besieged middle-class worker in first person. Harkinson used an “as told to” format to tell the story of a harried air-traffic controller.  He cautions that you can’t do this format in one interview, but must go back to the interviewee and review edited quotes with him or her.
3. Become a wage slave and write it up. Don’t lie on your resume; don’t name the business; and use stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, NLRB and OSHA for context, Harkinson advises. This approach, made famous by Barbara Ehrenreich in her book, “Nickel and Dimed,” was also used by Mother Jones writer Mac McClelland, who wrote: “I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave.”
4. Profile squatters and foreclosure defenders. Squatters occupy empty houses, and foreclosure defenders refuse to leave their foreclosed homes. Harkinson’s profile of a group of squatters in New York City provided a narrative to talk about the foreclosure crisis. Take Back the Land, a national squatting-support group, says the number of local groups pursuing the tactic has grown from about 15 last summer to around 75 today.
5. Profile your local plutocrat. Look for locals among the ultra-rich by scanning the Forbes lists of the 400 wealthiest Americans and the highest-paid CEOs. Your local tax assessor can also give you the names of the biggest residential taxpayers in the county. Example story: Jane Mayer’s New Yorker piece on the Koch brothers, principal owners of Koch Industries Inc.
6. Profile businesses that serve billionaires. Examples: executive-protection firms, guard-dog trainers, butlers, bulletproof-car makers, safe-room builders, and high-end restaurants. Example story: New York Times story on $230,000 guard dogs
   

   Mother Jones reporter Josh Harkinson speaks at the Reynolds Center workshop in Detroit on covering your local economy.

7. Profile a wealthy neighborhood. The IRS offers income data by ZIP code. Forbes also has a list of America’s most expensive ZIP codes, and market-research firms, such as Esri, have a wealth of hyperlocal data. Be sure to talk to businesses in the neighborhood, Harkinson advises. That’s how he got the detail that the Beretta gun store in Highland Park, Texas, sells more firearms than any other Beretta outlet in the world.
8. Find a local Warren Buffett or other heretic. Investor Warren Buffett, who’s worth $44 billion, doesn’t think he should be taxed at a lower rate than his secretary. To find local rich people who hold similar views, look for those who go against type at protests and seek wealthy people who are involved in political groups such as MoveOn.org or who contribute to liberal politicians. Career changers and recent retirees are often more willing to talk.
9. Locate a local hedge-fund landlord. Harkinson found that private-equity groups are taking advantage of depressed housing prices and low mortgage rates to become landlords. To check on how they’re doing, he suggests calling agencies that field renter complaints and checking for lawsuits against the firms. Real estate agents can help you identify the largest players in your market.
10. Look into decaying cities as laboratories for innovation. In addition to repurposed buildings, artistic projects and urban gardens, look for alternative economic systems with a bottom-up, community-driven model.  Examples: Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

For more ideas on covering your local economy, Marilyn Geewax, who also instructed at the Detroit workshop, will teach a free webinar on Economics 101 one hour a day from June 26-28. You can sign up here.