This is a coda for those of you following the “Who Killed Sears and Kmart?” series. Instead of an essay, this is more a glorified listicle focusing on thoughts left out or things that I wanted to delve into more. So here we go.
Media Blindness. I’ve said throughout the series that the media hasn’t really followed the story of what caused the downfall of Sears and Kmart. That doesn’t mean it was ignored, there were reporters and columnists here and there that would talk about what was going on. But on the whole, the lede was either buried or ignored entirely. Why?
My guess? It’s about the economic background of the media. Sears and Kmart were two chains that served the working and middle classes. I should know: I grew up working-class and growing up in the 70s and 80s, these two stores were places for the middle class to buy items at a good price. Journalists at some of the large media firms like the New York Times or NPR or CNN are not working-class. Reporters at big firms are highly educated and highly paid.
NeoMugwump 