How to Write a Good Feature Story

In order to write an effective feature story, a person must know the definitions of a feature story. Dr. Anthony Curtis of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke explains the background of what a feature story should be define as on his webpage. First, they are human-interest articles that focus on any particular persons or events. They can also be about a location. These stories are journalistic. This means that the subject is researched, described, and the article is colorful, well-thought, reflective and includes comprehensive writing focusing on original ideas. Topics are researched in depth and the resulting articles explain the more interesting aspects of the story rather than surface details. Overall, feature stories are popular content within newspapers and magazines. They are also quite popular within the blogging community, websites, television broadcast, and among other mass media.

Feature stories are quite special in that they are allotted a lot more room via preparation and copy length. Journalists who report on late-breaking hard news are not afforded these luxuries. It must be said that there are different feature stories that can be written. These types include: human interest, profiles, how-to rundowns, historical features, seasonal themes, and behind the scenes. All feature stories are considered nonfiction because they are journalistic reports and are not given the kind of freedom opinion essays or editorials are allowed. However, a certain creative freedom must be responsibly used when writing.

Writing a feature story may be considered easy to write by some people. But there are a few steps that must be remembered and followed in order for the story to read well and keep readers enticed while being truthful and factual. There are at least 8 steps. WikiHow explains these steps quite efficiently. First, a story must be found. A feature writer must not just look for a story that interests them, but also what people are talking about, are, and have been. One way to find a story is to pay great attention to the news. What is popular? Many feature stories are found because the question “why” is asked about an incident that has occurred. Second, research must be conducted. Gathering information is very, very important in making sure all facts necessary to the story being written are being presented. This can be done from interviewing sources or reviewing material that has been previously published.

Photo Credit, Google Images. It is important to make sure a reporter finds the right angle that will sell the story, keep the news alive, and tell the story truthfully.

 

The third step deals with deciding on what type of feature story to write. The most common type is human interest. That decided, step four is all about organization. Think of a play. It is separated into acts that keep the action well-organized and the reader enticed.  Like any written piece, an introduction to the featured subject must be captivating keep a reader interested. Just like any other written piece, a body and a conclusion follow, leading into step five. Style should be applied to the feature article. A feature writer should consider whether his or her story comes across literary, chatty, humorous, or serious. Make sure paragraphs are short and witty enough so a reader doesn’t get lost in the words and lose interest. A certain variety in sentence structure should be applied as well.

Step six and seven deal with adding just enough fluff so the article is still fully factual, but added details still continue to keep readers interested. These steps also deal with creating a title that communicate what the story is about and adds even more interest. The title is the most important aspect in a story to catch the attention of the reader. It is the job of the rest of the article to keep the interest. Finally, step eight is all about polishing. Check spelling and grammar. Reread the article again to see if anything can be added or taken out. Make sure all information is correct and quoted correctly. If possible, try not to write anything that is overly offensive. All that is left is sending in the article to an editor to make sure everything is in order.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sources Used:

http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/WritingFeatureStories.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Feature-Article

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Movie Review – Page One: Inside the New York Times

Photo Credit, Google Images. Page One: Inside the New York Times is a documentary that takes you inside the most popular newspaper in America.

What a powerful, informative documentary. Page One: Inside the New York Times really delves into the topic of media producing news. Growing up, I have never been one to run for the newspaper. In fact, the only section I ever wanted to look at was the comics section of my local paper. Any news I would catch a glimpse of would be from the nightly news before dinner. College forced me to broaden my horizon. I took a political science class that made me look into and research current events. I became fascinated with the news. I couldn’t get enough of making sure I was up to date on current events – especially because it was a major election year.  And then that semester was over and I was more interested in finishing my Associate’ degree.

Now, I am being a bit more cautious of what is going on. I love books, and I feel at home in bookstores. But the print world is digital now, and it is becoming rare for a person to walk round with a hard-or-paperback book in their hands. It is becoming the same within the news media. So much is digital that all people need to do is go onto the internet on whatever digital device is handy and look up news. Facebook and Twitter give quick links to the news, where more links await the attention of the world.

Photo Credit, Google Images. In the documentary, David Carr, a reporter for the New York Times, consults one of his sources on the phone.

Page One: Inside the New York Times highlights this change in reporting quite well. By taking us behind the scenes, we can see a first-hand look at the struggles that newspapers and magazines are facing. The entire documentary was fascinating – the interviews, the meetings, the research…everything is important to making sure the people have the news they need to make free and self-governing decisions. This is the first priority of journalism. But now, everyone believes they can be a reporter. All they need to do is have their video cameras and phones ready to capture what is going on. Apparently, we are all reporters, and with the help of social media and the rest of the inter-web, anything can be considered “news”.

I have a feeling that in the years to come, I will be going back to this movie to remind myself that there is an art and a sophistication in the practice of journalism. There is an art and sophistication in holding a print newspaper in your hands, turning the pages and smudging the ink with your fingers. Sure, it isn’t as convenient to carry as your phone, but it is still reliable and it is a tradition.