11.13.2006

Good ol' pyramid-style reporting:

These days, many newspaper articles lead with a teaser and gradually get around to the revelation. I prefer "pyramid-style", which used to be the norm in reparting: you start with what's most important and gradually drift to minutiae. The great values of this style are:
  1. You find out right away what each story's about.
  2. You can read as much as you like, quit when the detail seems not worth the effort.


Well, Micahel Sanchez of the Albequerque Tribune seems to be an old-fashioned pyramid guy, at least in this story. (Perhaps that's because he's actually a New Mexico State Senator.) Here's his lead sentence:
Congress has dictated sweeping changes to how states will issue driver's licenses, but if changes aren't made it's going to cost taxpayers time, money and a lot of aggravation.
The rest of the story backs up this assertion in great detail. If you've been reading this website, you'll be familiar with what he has to say, and he certainly says it well.

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