In that spirit, today's journalists tend to be frugal. Since most news professionals want to be ahead of the curve without seeming out of step, it's not too soon to put together a boilerplate story about major events of 1998. The details can be adjusted later.
Unemployment is low.
We've created a smaller and more efficient government by streamlining federal agencies. And the outlook for investors has never been brighter. On the political front, fund-raising efforts intensified for a number of presidential hopefuls, who have already become familiar faces in Iowa and New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the progress of welfare reform pleased most commentators. Dumping people off welfare rolls proved to be a big morale boost for pundits in 1998.