Carr: Biz media have become immune to layoffs

The New York Times’ David Carr writes a column for Monday’s paper, already available online Sunday evening, that wonders why the business media have begun to ignore large layoffs such as the one announced last week by Circuit City.

Carr wrote, “After hearing a fairly expansive report on public radio’s Marketplace late Wednesday, I woke up the next morning eager to read more.

“USA Today ran a short article on the front page, The Wall Street Journal ran a brief on B4, The New York Times published a wire report inside its business pages, while The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times gave the news a bit more room.

“Only the piece in The Baltimore Sun really explored the broader implications, while most of the coverage stuck to the usual suspects and themes. There were a few quick mentions on the evening news, but I saw no cable-talk umbrage at what this meant. And the next day, it was yesterday’s news.

“Media outlets could not be blamed for having a little fatigue when it comes to layoffs, which have become an organic part of American life. With Detroit laying off more than 70,000 people in the last few years, the approximately 8 percent of Circuit City’s work force who got the heave-ho as a result of a ‘wage management initiative’ — yet another advance in corporate-speak — do not seem like a big deal.”

Read more here.