Scanlan includes a checklist used by St. Petersburg Times reporter Kelly Ryan, a city hall reporter. Learn the background. The best government stories are about the people who run and are affected by it. Such techniques provide meaning for readers. Just as importantly, though, is that it's a heck of a lot more fun.
People can get news and information from a variety of sources.
We give you that, but we also tell you what it means. In a complex society like ours, that's what we're hungry for. The temptation may be to assume that putting a priority on storytelling means getting away from our obligation of keeping our readers informed. The danger there is that we risk becoming like the big-city papers, showing up at the meeting only when there is a provocative issue to write about. Consider Vicki Simons.