The PR counter-narrative here is, “See, low-paying Walmart jobs aren’t dead ends: They’re new starts!”

But there are probably a hundred or two hundred workers for every one of those big successes—far more of them are making $8 or $9 an hour than manager salaries—while their (relatively) well-paid store managers who manipulate their hours to maximize store profits at the expense of their employees’ non-work lives get credulously profiled by the local newspaper. Numerically, there are only so many workers who can ascend beyond the poverty wage rank at Walmart. And so the press focus—or at least some of the focus—should be on them.

It’s worth noting what happens when someone else shows up to push back on the Walmart-created narrative. Here’s the Woodland, California Daily Democrat last month at a ribbon cutting:

“We are very excited,” said Store Manager Ed Medina, a 10-year Wal-Mart worker. “Finally all the craziness is done and now we’re taking care of all our customers — that’s what we’re good at.”

Well, maybe not all the craziness.

Just after 4 p.m. Wednesday a group of about 10 protesters convened at the store’s front entrance with signs such as “Wal-Mart: Always low pay,” “Boycott Wal-Mart” and “Fair Pay.” The protest was organized by Occupy Woodland’s Steven Payan…

“Small businesses close, wages drop, and more county services are needed because most of the employees are on Medi-Cal or use emergency room services,” he said. “Because wages are so low most have to augment with food stamps.”

It’s too bad that it takes a handful of Occupy protestors to get newspapers to dilute the pure PR wins they’re giving Walmart.

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Ryan Chittum , a former Wall Street Journal reporter, is deputy editor of The Audit, CJR's business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu.