In truth, we knew Jim was working hard the whole time. And we came to see that in order to get the full stories of these people's lives, we needed to let them unfold. And that takes time. Jim's reporting went, literally, to the eve of publication. Perhaps, naively, I have confidence in our readers.
People love stories.
They don't simply look at the newspaper as a source of information that will help them become a contestant on Weakest Link. Give them a compelling subject, and they will stick with you through a second cup of morning coffee. Amen, Brother Roy. You appear to have structured the series almost like a recurring, hour-long TV drama, with new story lines and characters introduced and pursued as each of the eight parts unfolds. Figuring out how and when to introduce characters was one of the hardest parts of this project.