An a-ha moment

I had an a-ha moment today. I have heard Joni's presentation on the marriage of word and art - and the importance of presenting the news - several times over the past five years. But today, I heard something different.
She explained and detailed on the white board the conversation about a front page story between herself -a visuals editor- and the paper's editor. As she laid out the questions regarding information she needed to create a meaningful package, I couldn't help but think "these are the questions that every reporter and editor needs to ask before beginning to craft a story."
Why is this new park important? What will change? How much will it cost? What do people think about the project?
Sometimes I read stories that seem as if they were written on the fly, with little thought. Sometimes I read stories that are almost like reading minutes of a meeting. They lack focus; they lack concern for the audience - the consumer of the news. What a shame.
So my a-ha moment is this: Thinking visually empowers another part of our brain; if forces us as writers and editors to think through the issues in different ways -ask questions in a new way. Can this be better communicated through words? A photo? A graphic? A map?
Reporting is no longer just about the written word. We have so many tools at our disposal today to communicate to our audience. The challenge we have in this new world is deciding which tools will best convey the message of the story.