When faced with a Washington news policy piece, there's sometimes little a reporter can do to make it interesting and lively. The chances to find ambient sound, quirky events, or connections with real people are very difficult...especially under deadline. That's why I love what NPR's Andrea Seabrook did with her story "Can We Afford State of the Union Proposals?".
She uses some techniques that I wouldn't try too often, including the way she introduces the story's first character. But look at the writing, and the way she uses very conversational, non-sentences to explain...or "translate" what the subjects are saying.
