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There's just a mother hen on the eggs over here!

Mondays are interesting days here at StateImpact.  It’s when we plan out what we’re going to cover over the course of the week, and how.  It’s when we look at where we’ve been in the past week, and where we’re going.  And sometimes, it’s the day that critical information is brought to our–or rather, in this case, my–attention.

“You’re like a mother hen on the eggs over here!”

That’s what Rachel Gotbaum, my StateImpact partner-in-crime, told me today.  She’s convinced that I need to share with you a bit more often how exactly I get from Point A (observation) to Point B (question) to Point C (data) and finally…to Point D (story).

Unlike my partner, I’m not from the Northeast originally, let alone one of its major cities.  But I’ve been in the area long enough to know that when a dyed-in-the-wool East Coast urbanite like Rachel adds “over here!” to the end of a sentence…it’s Serious Business.  And I need to pay attention.

So in that spirit, I’m going to start sharing with you the process of putting a story together, as it comes together.

Let’s start with the lotto series.  Continue Reading →