Allow your more non-conformist colleagues to be more informal, if that is more comfortable for them. It's OK to have different methods for different sections, different people, different stories. The key is to make sure you see the story through the impatient reader's eyes and plan accordingly. Glitches are common in newsroom planning efforts. Many papers have launched, lapsed, and relaunched.
Planning takes commitment and consistent practice.
Look behind the most dazzling, most powerful visual journalism, and you almost always find passionate people who talked early and deeply about a story. Better Safe Than Sorry White powder at the St. Petersburg Times. Reporting on Anthrax Spread the news without crying wolf. Weird Mail Dr. Ink has a plan. Cipro Sells Online Al's Morning Meeting.