First Ledes: Don't Forget The Obvious

Like here:

Vernon Sindelair, the county treasurer, has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than 1.7 million for his wife’s cancer treatments.

Problem is, he embezzled 1.7 million what? Dollars? Tubes of toothpaste? What?

It's dollars. We know that. But our audience doesn't, unless we make it clear by adding a dollar sign: $1.7 million.

Let's be sure we don't overlook the obvious in telling our stories. The big things won't make sense if the little things aren't clear.