To examine markets for journalism and learn how stories are sold. Or, your instructor may ask you to write a complete feature based upon one of these sets of facts. Pdf on jan 1, 2006, olusola oyero and others published writing feature articles find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Before one starts crafting a feature article, he must master the nutty gritty of writing so that even the. Here, wed like to share what weve learned with you. This type of story has its basis upon timely news happening with a humaninterest angle is called a news feature often a news happening can be made much more interesting or newsworthy by writing it in a semi feature sort of thing. Experience and adventure featurettes first person point of view. Journalism from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia journalism is a discipline of writing. Jul 05, 20 a feature story is any piece of writing that falls between the cutanddried news story on the one hand, and the w holly fictionalized story or opinionated essay 011 the other hand. The interpretative nature of feature writing requires that a feature writer. Also, the style of writing a feature may vary depending on the writer or the subject. Pdf on jan 1, 2006, olusola oyero and others published writing feature articles find. A study at the university of michigan shatters some myths. However, at the very heart of it, the purpose is the same it aims to explore a range of issues, opinions, experiences, and ideas while.
Society for features journalism promoting the craft of. Feature stories are humaninterest articles that focus. To accomplish this goal, we will examine popular mass media and alternative broadcast, audio, print, and digital. Feature writers have the extra time to complete background. Mar 27, 20 tips for writing a features article dont worry if you have never written an article before, read some top tips for people who are brand new to feature writing wed 27 mar 20 09. He is precise and straight to the point and is guided by the abc of journalism that is accuracy, balance and clarity. As stated in the week 1 lecture mchugh 20, features arent an excuse for literary pyrotechnics. These features commemorate important dates in history or turning points in our. How to write a feature story popular content of print, electronic and internet media what are feature stories. If your objective is freelance feature writing, a staff job for a while will enable you to build a network of contacts. To accomplish this goal, we will examine popular mass media and alternative broadcast, audio, print, and digital news organizations and sources, and read each others writing.
A feature story is any piece of writing that falls between the cutanddried news story on the one hand, and the w holly fictionalized story or opinionated essay 011 the other hand. The top eight entries of the following categories will be recognized at the nsaa state journalism contest at the awards ceremony. Feature writing caven masuku, gweru, zimbabwe introduction a good feature writer is neither wordy nor flowery. Info graphic, indepth newspaper coverage, newspaper layout, photoartistic illustration. The monograph may also be used as a student text, providing a quick guide to features of style and their rationales. Some editors dispute the emphasis on soft writing and refer to it as jello journalism. Chapter 1 defining investigative reporting what makes it different from other types of journalism. A feature story is a piece of nonfiction writing about news. The main subtypes are the news feature and the humaninterest story a feature story is distinguished from other types of nonnews by the quality of the writing. An increased emphasis on online feature writing includes a thoroughly revised examination of internetassisted research and looks at the burgeoning new market for freelance writersinternet writing includes biographies of three new pulitzer winners for feature writingandrea elliott of the new york times 2007, gene weingarten of the washington post magazine 2008, and lane degregory. Emphasis in its separate paragraphs and in itself as a whole. Tips for writing a features article global development. A feature story is often defined by its length and style, not its subject matter.
The purpose of feature writing writing for strategic. To teach the value of listening to the written word. It exposes wrongdoing so it can be corrected, not because journalists and their patrons benefit from exposure. Info graphic, in depth newspaper coverage, newspaper layout, photoartistic illustration. Newsoriented journalism is sometimes described as the first rough draft of history attributed to phil graham, because journalists often did record important events, however producing news. Assignments include first person 700 words, expository writing 1,200 words, narrative 2,000 words and analytical 700 words. A sidebar runs next to the main story or elsewhere in the same edition, providing an audience with additional information on the same topic. But to create an engaging feature, writers must build upon those skills by utilizing storytelling methods often associated with fiction writing, such as description, character and dialogue. To conceive, report, write and revise several types of feature stories.
When articles or scripts succeed at this, they often are cast as what is known as. However, this does not mean that clear writing is less important in features than in any other form of journalism. Suggested reading the art and craft of feature writing, william blundell, plume, 1988 note. Feature writing is similar to any other expository or narrative writing as the main body of the feature is developed in the same way as that of any good piece of writing. There was a time that feature articles lived only in print articles. The pursuit of excellence 7th edition mysearchlab series for communication edward jay friedlander, john d. Feature writing leaguetown high school, located in texas, has an enrollment of 1,800 students in grades 912. Investigative reporting has many, sometimes widely divergent, meanings. True, very few newspapers would put a feature on the front page where a lead story ought to be although it has been known, but many writers would say that a lot. It also contains personal opinion of the writer, which is not welcomed in other form of news story writing. Feature stories, on the other hand, are soft news because they are not as timely, not as swiftly reported. Some writers follow the socalled 404020 rule when writing features, which outlines how to divide their time.
Additional coursework depends on the school a student chooses to attend a private journalism school, college or university. Jan 22, 2010 the best journalism engages as it informs. There is no need to put a conclusion on a news story. It therefore seems that a literary discourse has dominated feature journalism from the. Investigative reporting is not paparazzi journalism. Here we will discuss in detail the different types of feature stories in journalism. The 32nd annual society for features journalism excellenceinfeatures contest, which honors the craft of feature storytelling and the people who do it for a living, is taking entries for 2020. According to a 1949 textbook on feature writing, the feature article is a. Feature journalism oxford research encyclopedia of.
Writing feature articles covenant university repository. The new deadline for the contest is march 7, our final extension. Aug 08, 2014 journalism news and feature writing 1. In the united states, for example, longform nonfiction narratives became a completely unique category of journalism. Types of feature stories in journalism study lecture notes. Campusjourn university feature learn campus journalism. Features are more indepth than traditional news stories and go beyond providing the most important facts. This course covers the news writing and news gathering skills which every writer needs to master before they can become a competent feature writer.
Jul 23, 2017 we learned tips and tricks about feature writing to help us improve how we share stories on. It should exemplify the three cardinal principles of. The writer learns about the topic through education, experience, research or interviews with experts. Tips for writing a features article dont worry if you have never written an article before, read some top tips for people who are brand new to feature writing wed 27 mar 20 09. Journalists resource, will teach students how to write compelling feature articles. But, having said that, feature writing is, actually, required across all platforms. It comes with a lot of elements that should come together to make it whole. The basics of feature writing journalism lecture youtube. Over the summer, junior lisa munoz was selected to attend a weeklong dance camp hosted by the new york city rockettes in new york city.
The most notable differences between features and hard. Pdf feature writing in journalism caven masuku academia. Writing, sports news writing, yearbook feature writing, yearbook sports feature writing and yearbook theme copy writing. Feature writing can stand alone, or it can be a sidebar to the main story, the mainbar. Writing style differences in newspaper, radio, and television news 2 of stylistic features should be a handy reference tool. Not all news stories and articles are created equal. Watchdog journalism investigative reporting is watchdog journalism. Vanessa taylor, mesfin fekadu, nicole clark, weihuan chen, prince shakur and chris ip. Feature journalism has developed from being a marginal and subordinate supplement to hard news in newspapers to becoming a significant part of journalism on all platforms. Feature writing calls upon some of the same skills used in news writing, especially reporting and interviewing. Journalism majors will take coursework in reporting, english, feature writing and editing, photojournalism, communications, and journalistic ethics.
If youre considering a career in journalism, your success can hinge on knowing the difference between writing a straight news piece and a feature story. Personalities character sketch usually short emphasize more on the person. Think of the feature as the journalistic equivalent of an essay, it will then be easy to. While opinion pieces can qualify as feature articles, features in general are certainly not a mere outlet for the writer to express their opinions, or to speculate on an issue factual information and. This is a dream come true, george said at his victory party from the king edward hotel. This journalism lecture focuses on the basics of feature writing.
It is the product ol tactual reporting and reporting to which are added story elements of. Niblock argues that the proportion of feature journalism in british newspapers has. Feature journalism can be defined as a family of genres that share a common exigence, understood as a publicly recognized need to be. Feature writing techniques and style study lecture notes. Effective writing essentials of journalistic style. To learn to constructively critique and be critiqued. Students learn to report and write highquality features for newspapers and magazines, emphasizing the art of storytelling, human interest, and analysis. It is the product ol tactual reporting and reporting to which are added story elements of imaginative writing and interpretation.
The basics of good journalism and good writing in general all apply to feature writing. In addition to the obvious audience in journalism for whom its primarily intended. Feature journalism has become an increasingly popular part of digital news outlets. Writing style differences in newspaper, radio, and television. They were something which grew out of colour magazines. Feature writing english 304 is designed to help you enhance your reading and analytical skills in reading and writing of works in narrative journalism. There are different types of feature stories feature stories are created to inform, entertain, persuade, or simply satisfy the audiences curiosity about a certain topic. In this class you will learn the basics of feature writing. You will learn how to develop ideas for features and how to pitch stories to editors, including writing effective query letters.
Journalism writing rubrics feature story rubric objectives accomplished 1011 points skilled 89 points developing 67 points needs improvement 5 points or less. The gamut of subject matter and writing style employed by feature writers is nearly endless, as feature becomes an umbrella term for many literary structures. It uses quotes liberally and allows the reader to see the story through detailed description and vivid writing. News writing, editorial writing, column writing and. First, write a straight news lead for each of the following stories. Column is the creative expression covering all fields of journalism. It emerged as a key force driving the popularization and tabloidization of the press. Online newspapers have experimented with digital formats for feature journalism since the late 1990s, first with technologydriven multimedia feature journalism and later with storydriven longform feature journalism. This type of story has its basis upon timely news happening with a humaninterest angle is called a news feature often a news happening can be made much more interesting or newsworthy by writing it in a semifeature sort of thing. Feature writing is not concerned so much with formula as in the inverted pyramid structure of hard news writing as it is interested in impact. This course will teach students how to write compelling feature articles, substantive nonfiction stories that look to a corner of the news and illuminate it, often in human terms.
This is very different from an essay, which presumes that the audience will stick around to the end, and can therefore build to a finish. A column may pass the projected judgements, make recommendations and may write freely without following the accepted boundaries of news writing. Writing style differences in newspaper, radio, and. When we werent victorious last time, we refused to give up. By jeanne acton, uililpc journalism director feature writing. Chapter 1 defining investigative reporting what makes it. If youre even luckier the work placement might lead to a staff job. Experience and adventure featurettes first person point of view 3. More than 2,500 girls auditioned for the 75 spots in the summer camp. When articles or scripts succeed at this, they often are cast as what is known as features or contain elements of a story. Feature stories hard news articles are written so the reader can stop reading at any time, and still come away with the whole story. Introduction to journalism student activities book by dianne smith publisher.
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