For each story, before you start your reporting, when you are just conceptualizing coverage, begin this way:

Ask,

• Who are the audiences for this story? Some people call these multiple audiences stakeholders.
  
  
• What information do they need to have in the story so they can make up their own minds about what to think?
  
  For instance, if the story is discussing a piece of legislation, can a citizen actually understand how that legislation would affect them from the story?
  
  
• What is missing?
  
  How do you make local connections to the Asian economic crisis, for instance? The Portland Oregonian by following an Oregon potato from harvest until it was sold as part of a large order of French fries in a McDonalds in Singapore?
  
  This approach has another virtue. It not only helps you think about the audience. It helps you reconsider your source list, where you go for news. Most likely, our source constituency is not broad enough.