One way to view a boring story is as an issue of excess. Too long, too rambling, too “into the weeds.”
The problem with this approach is what it implies, that merely cutting down and tightening up a tale will fix it. Often, however, the central weakness of boring stories is not length but the absence of elements common to good storytelling.
This may reflect the reporter’s reluctance to make conscious decisions about the most important elements in the story – the central point, central evidence, central characters, and the central place.