Certainly a lead that has some conflict in it will prompt the reader to delve deeper into the story, more than talking generally about an economic development report. Once I got past the lead, I tried to write a story that combines my experience covering the economy in Rhode Island over the years, with the voluminous information about Rhode Island that Atkinson had included in a draft version of his report. In the story, I tried not to rush into the actual contents of the report. My hope was that as the readers read about what Almond's plans were for creating jobs, their curiosity about the findings of the report would be another factor in holding on to them longer than a couple of minutes. All of the work under way can have an impact on the standard of living for Rhode Islanders.
People care about jobs.
They care about how they'll pay for their homes, send their kids to school and whether or not the company they work for today will pack up and move to the South tomorrow. The reporting was made easier by the fact that everyone was anxious to talk about this report, from Atkinson to Almond to members of the Policy Council. In the end, to provide a sense of closure, I returned to the conflict I had presented at the start.