High Country Unemployed: Who Are They?

With unemployment rates as high as they are in the High Country, you might expect that some of the "local" media outlets might make an effort to write a story or two about who all of these unemployed people are.

Yet, for all of the rhetoric we hear from the many of the High Country's media outlets about their supposed focus on local issues, we were only able to find one story about a worker who has lost his job. Here it is, and kudos to the Jefferson Post for their work.

Can these unemployed people be so hard to find? With unemployment rates at 13.3 percent in Ashe, 9.9 percent in Avery, 7.9 percent in Watauga, and 13.9 percent in Wilkes, we're thinking that it might not be too hard to locate someone who is actually out of a job.

So then, why the lack of coverage of those hurt the most by these layoffs? Corporate media has one focus: profit. Would a story about laid off people lead to good sales?

Would a story about the unemployed offend advertisers--some of which may have been forced to layoff their own employees? Or would advertisers chafe at the idea of a news outlet writing or covering a story which might be popular with people who don't have enough money to purchase their product? Maybe it would just be a major bummer to have to actually talk to the untouchables.

Until more local media outlets step up and start covering the actual people who have lost their jobs, we are left with silence. These people may as well not exist. They are irrelevant. They can't purchase items peddled by advertisers. Guess these unemployed people are all just lazy?

If you are experiencing hard times due to the tough economy, and you'd like to share your story with an interested media outlet, try Pro Publica. They actually want to hear your story.

And the local media? Well, it seems like they are much more interested in covering things like this, this, and this.