What’s Wrong With This Story?

Here’s the St. Louis Public Radio story we listened to this morning.

‘Strapped Face-Down’: Questions Linger After Missouri Inmate’s Overdose Death

While most would agree it is tragic, the glaring omission in this story, as Erin pointed out, was this one question: how are these drugs getting into the prison in the first place?

This is a classic example of: 

a) the reporter getting too close to the story, so much so that she overlooked a fundamental question

b) lack of attentive editorial oversight

Don’t assume that your readers/listeners/viewers will already know what’s going on. It is your job to tell them.