Ninety-Seven Percent of Americans Live Somewhere Other than New York City

Attacks on the socalled quotcoastal elitesquot have become a hallmark of post2016 politicsamp160and similarly some conservative commentators have voiced concern about the media39s apparent New York frame of referenceamp160 Cruz39s comment was indeed out of lineamp160painting New Yorkers or Californians with a broad brush is as unfair as defining Nebraskans by rural stereotypesamp160 But as tempting as it may be to dismiss Cruz39s line of thinking outofhand as divisive class and geographical warfare perhaps the spirit of what his comment represents the divide between a few cities and the rest of the country needs to be taken seriouslyamp160 So many of the people who shape American media after all live and work on one 134mile island at the Eastern edge of the continentamp160 This becomes all the more relevant due to the steady decline of many local and regional newspapers leaving online media and a few major papers many of which are run from New York the increasingly dominant news sources for AmericansNowhere is the disproportionate influence of New York City seen more than in the online media space particularly in online magazinesamp160 The writers and editors generally live in New York and it showsamp160 One can hardly get through three paragraphs on many of the Millennialtargeted publications without constant references to locations around New York City and only oneandahalf of the boroughs of courseamp160 The placedropping is incessant quotGramercyquot quotBattery Parkquot quotthe Villagequotamp160 Only 26 of Americans live in New York City but reading through many of these publications one would think that number is infinitely greateramp160 Forget about references to what countless Americans have as their cultural touchstones say Ephrata Pennsylvania39s quotThe Green Dragonquot or spending the first night of summer watching the Gwinnett Stripers playThe story is likely more a socioeconomic one than a geographical oneamp160 Trump39s populist message for instance carried him to victory in every county in New York during the Republican primary except for one New York Countyamp160 Even if New York City is sometimes unfortunately appropriated as part of this political warfare in fairness to its detractors the outoftouch characterization might be becoming more and more realThe average rent in Manhattan is 3667 per month which is 68 above the national average and the average sale price of a home in Manhattan is about sixandhalf times the national averageamp160 Although income is relatively evenly distributed purchasing power in Manhattan is a far cry from most places in the rest of the country amp160In her New York Times pieceamp160quotWhat Is Middle Class in Manhattanquot Amy O39Leary says quotsomeone making 70000 a year in other parts of the country would need to make 166000 in Manhattan to enjoy the same purchasing powerquotamp160 All the while New York City continues to attract graduates of elite colleges at an astounding rate 254 of Princeton graduates moved to New York City after graduation more than triple the next closest destination city of Washington DC and it was the top destination for graduates of six of the eight Ivy League schoolsBut perhaps more fundamentally Manhattan is no longer the Manhattan of times gone by with the unique cultural mosaics of its pastamp160 The New York accent is dyingamp160 Little Italy has shrunk almost out of existence from 50 square blocks to three thanks in large part to skyrocketing rentsamp160and landmarks there such as the Ravenite Social Club have morphed into shoe and handbag boutiquesIt39s a point foreshadowed by the 1994 Seinfeld episode The Mom ampamp Pop Store amp160quotIt39s your gogo corporate takeover lifestyles that are driving out these momandpop stores and destroying the fabric of this neighborhoodquot Kramer saysamp160 George of course replies as George wouldamp160quotIf my mom and pop ran a store I wouldn39t shop therequotamp160 But the point remains or as the community radio show hostamp160Jamison Maley likes to say quotThey39re trying to turn entire workingclass neighborhoods into one giant sushi barquot thus pushing more and more New Yorkers out of ManhattanJust as the Miramax logo appears offset against the New York skyline or the last shot of NBC Nightly News is people meandering around Rockefeller Center even academic papers written on news audiences often rely on samples based heavily in the Northeastamp160 The shallowness of some journalists39 efforts to comprehend other parts of America showsamp160 Sometimes they even take an almost voyeuristic tone such as the numerous photoessays on socalled quotDonald Trump39s Americaquot depicting say a washedup Vietnam veteran staring through the uncleaned windows of a nearly empty dineramp160 Characterizing these individuals as quotTrump39s Americansquot is as monolithic and reductive as portraying New Yorkers as Senator Cruz did and it makes it all the more difficult to understand them politically or in terms of their preferences for mediaJust as there are political echo chambers there are media echo chambers too where those making decisions in media on the content side the advertising side and everything in between are often living in just a handful of places most of which are wealthy and urbanamp160 Just as if you39re only socializing with Republicans you might be less likely to understand Democrats if you39re mostly spending time in a handful of urban centers it might be harder to take the pulse of much of the rest of the countryamp160 For instance how many Americans get their news from radio in their cars driving back and forth from work rather than from podcasts on the subway why an athlete kneeling for theamp160national anthem might be such a big deal or why so many Americans might have a soft spot for watching The Voice instead of Game of ThronesSo in a world of echo chambers in both politics and media it39s important to remember that 974 of Americans live somewhere other than New York Cityamp160 Even with the near fetishization of many urban centers on the part of contentmakers 11 of Americans have never left the state they were born in let alone quotthreaded the needlequot in touring the upmarket localesamp160 And even if some did make the trek the growing chasm between the country39s wealthiest enclaves and the rest of the map might have many people before long humming along to Jim Croce39s semiautobiographical tune quotNew York39s Not My HomequotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Ninety-Seven Percent of Americans Live Somewhere Other than New York City

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Erich J. Prince

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Ninety-Seven Percent of Americans Live Somewhere Other than New York City

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