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Comment by catacombs | Hacker News Reader

I'd like to know how you would explain a complicated topic to the average reader, all keeping it between 600-700 words, on a tight deadline, with quotes from a variety of people, and engaging enough to hold a reader's attention to know how this particular topic will impact their lives.

These are the hurdles reporters face when reporting on complicated topics.

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Why do it in that format at all?

That's how stories are written. Short, succinct and informative enough to give the readers what they need for the day. Now, there are times when reporters work on "enterprise" pieces that dives fairly deep into a particular topic. Many national papers have investigative teams that churn out one or two stories A YEAR, but they are dense thorough. Perhaps that what you might enjoy reading.

Sure, I'm aware that this is how things are done. The problem is that the goal isn't really to convey the information in its best form, it's to alter the information to suit the existing form.

When people are complaining about how a format doesn't suit what it is trying to present, I don't believe the correct response is to underline how difficult it is to properly format things that way. If the format is set in stone for various reasons, perhaps the solution is to not publish things that are complicated rather than failing in an attempt to simplify complex issues.

Well if I was an expert in it, I would probably be able to. It's the mark of understanding something well that you can explain it easily.

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