I agree with what Meghan said. In print, you should know what your story's focus is before going into the field, but if you're still playing around with ideas, you can narrow the frame of the story once you get back to the newsroom. Video is so different - if you just show up with a camera, it's likely you won't get the shots you need to make the story as compelling as possible. I know I ran into this problem my first time out, and I'm pre-planning from now on.

Of all the readings, I found "Writing the Package" most helpful. The blueprint helped "click" into place what we're working towards. I also have a better understanding now of what goes into a package versus what goes into a simple story. We just visited KOMU with J2100H, and it definitely makes more sense now why the anchors' lead-ins would essentially be the report. At the time, it didn't seem like the best way to tell the story, but thinking back, there wasn't anything a reporter's narrative could have added to the story.