Watchdog journalism investigative reporting is watchdog journalism. Suggested reading the art and craft of feature writing, william blundell, plume, 1988 note. Feature writing techniques and style study lecture notes. 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. A study at the university of michigan shatters some myths. In addition to the obvious audience in journalism for whom its primarily intended. News writing, editorial writing, column writing and. Experience and adventure featurettes first person point of view. This journalism lecture focuses on the basics of feature writing.
First, write a straight news lead for each of the following stories. There is no need to put a conclusion on a news story. Writing style differences in newspaper, radio, and television. Students learn to report and write highquality features for newspapers and magazines, emphasizing the art of storytelling, human interest, and analysis. The interpretative nature of feature writing requires that a feature writer. Campusjourn university feature learn campus journalism. This course covers the news writing and news gathering skills which every writer needs to master before they can become a competent feature writer. As stated in the week 1 lecture mchugh 20, features arent an excuse for literary pyrotechnics. Feature stories, on the other hand, are soft news because they are not as timely, not as swiftly reported. 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. If youre even luckier the work placement might lead to a staff job. How to write a feature story popular content of print, electronic and internet media what are feature stories.
It comes with a lot of elements that should come together to make it whole. The basics of feature writing journalism lecture youtube. When we werent victorious last time, we refused to give up. 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. If your objective is freelance feature writing, a staff job for a while will enable you to build a network of contacts. Aug 08, 2014 journalism news and feature writing 1. According to a 1949 textbook on feature writing, the feature article is a.
Investigative reporting is not paparazzi journalism. To learn to constructively critique and be critiqued. 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. It also contains personal opinion of the writer, which is not welcomed in other form of news story writing. Journalism writing rubrics feature story rubric objectives accomplished 1011 points skilled 89 points developing 67 points needs improvement 5 points or less. The writer learns about the topic through education, experience, research or interviews with experts. To accomplish this goal, we will examine popular mass media and alternative broadcast, audio, print, and digital. A sidebar runs next to the main story or elsewhere in the same edition, providing an audience with additional information on the same topic. Think of the feature as the journalistic equivalent of an essay, it will then be easy to. 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. Feature writing calls upon some of the same skills used in news writing, especially reporting and interviewing. When articles or scripts succeed at this, they often are cast as what is known as. Not all news stories and articles are created equal.
Experience and adventure featurettes first person point of view 3. Feature journalism has become an increasingly popular part of digital news outlets. 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. It is the product ol tactual reporting and reporting to which are added story elements of. The basics of good journalism and good writing in general all apply to feature writing. Here we will discuss in detail the different types of feature stories in journalism. A feature story is a piece of nonfiction writing about news. Or, your instructor may ask you to write a complete feature based upon one of these sets of facts. 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. Tips for writing a features article global development. Feature stories hard news articles are written so the reader can stop reading at any time, and still come away with the whole story.
They were something which grew out of colour magazines. Feature writing caven masuku, gweru, zimbabwe introduction a good feature writer is neither wordy nor flowery. Feature journalism oxford research encyclopedia of. 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.
Jul 23, 2017 we learned tips and tricks about feature writing to help us improve how we share stories on. It exposes wrongdoing so it can be corrected, not because journalists and their patrons benefit from exposure. 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. 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. Here, wed like to share what weve learned with you. Some editors dispute the emphasis on soft writing and refer to it as jello journalism. These features commemorate important dates in history or turning points in our. Feature stories are humaninterest articles that focus. Writing, sports news writing, yearbook feature writing, yearbook sports feature writing and yearbook theme copy writing. Feature writing leaguetown high school, located in texas, has an enrollment of 1,800 students in grades 912. We will discuss the various types of features, including profiles, short features, news features, trend features and personal essays. The purpose of feature writing writing for strategic. But, having said that, feature writing is, actually, required across all platforms.
Writing feature articles covenant university repository. Feature writing english 304 is designed to help you enhance your reading and analytical skills in reading and writing of works in narrative journalism. 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. There was a time that feature articles lived only in print articles. The monograph may also be used as a student text, providing a quick guide to features of style and their rationales. He is precise and straight to the point and is guided by the abc of journalism that is accuracy, balance and clarity. Journalism from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia journalism is a discipline of writing.
Effective writing essentials of journalistic style. A column may pass the projected judgements, make recommendations and may write freely without following the accepted boundaries of news writing. To conceive, report, write and revise several types of feature stories. 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. A feature story is often defined by its length and style, not its subject matter. Assignments include first person 700 words, expository writing 1,200 words, narrative 2,000 words and analytical 700 words. 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. However, this does not mean that clear writing is less important in features than in any other form of journalism. Niblock argues that the proportion of feature journalism in british newspapers has. Some writers follow the socalled 404020 rule when writing features, which outlines how to divide their time. 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. To examine markets for journalism and learn how stories are sold. 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.
This is a dream come true, george said at his victory party from the king edward hotel. It uses quotes liberally and allows the reader to see the story through detailed description and vivid writing. 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. Features are more indepth than traditional news stories and go beyond providing the most important facts. 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. Pdf on jan 1, 2006, olusola oyero and others published writing feature articles find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. To teach the value of listening to the written word.
Writing style differences in newspaper, radio, and television news 2 of stylistic features should be a handy reference tool. Vanessa taylor, mesfin fekadu, nicole clark, weihuan chen, prince shakur and chris ip. You will learn how to develop ideas for features and how to pitch stories to editors, including writing effective query letters. Introduction to journalism student activities book by dianne smith publisher. The most notable differences between features and hard. Pdf feature writing in journalism caven masuku academia. Investigative reporting has many, sometimes widely divergent, meanings. Chapter 1 defining investigative reporting what makes it different from other types of journalism. The pursuit of excellence 7th edition mysearchlab series for communication edward jay friedlander, john d.
Journalists resource, will teach students how to write compelling feature articles. It is the product ol tactual reporting and reporting to which are added story elements of imaginative writing and interpretation. 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. 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. Jan 22, 2010 the best journalism engages as it informs. The new deadline for the contest is march 7, our final extension.
Before one starts crafting a feature article, he must master the nutty gritty of writing so that even the. Column is the creative expression covering all fields of journalism. 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. By jeanne acton, uililpc journalism director feature writing. Journalism majors will take coursework in reporting, english, feature writing and editing, photojournalism, communications, and journalistic ethics. It should exemplify the three cardinal principles of. Feature journalism can be defined as a family of genres that share a common exigence, understood as a publicly recognized need to be. Pdf on jan 1, 2006, olusola oyero and others published writing feature articles find. 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. It emerged as a key force driving the popularization and tabloidization of the press. When articles or scripts succeed at this, they often are cast as what is known as features or contain elements of a story. Additional coursework depends on the school a student chooses to attend a private journalism school, college or university.
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. Also, the style of writing a feature may vary depending on the writer or the subject. Society for features journalism promoting the craft of. Info graphic, indepth newspaper coverage, newspaper layout, photoartistic illustration. Chapter 1 defining investigative reporting what makes it. In the united states, for example, longform nonfiction narratives became a completely unique category of journalism. In this class you will learn the basics of feature writing. The top eight entries of the following categories will be recognized at the nsaa state journalism contest at the awards ceremony. Feature writing can stand alone, or it can be a sidebar to the main story, the mainbar. 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.
It therefore seems that a literary discourse has dominated feature journalism from the. Emphasis in its separate paragraphs and in itself as a whole. More than 2,500 girls auditioned for the 75 spots in the summer camp. Info graphic, in depth newspaper coverage, newspaper layout, photoartistic illustration. Feature writers have the extra time to complete background.