Types of feature stories for journalists thoughtco. Jan 05, 2017 journalism helps to explain the events that impact our lives and is developed in a number of forms and styles. A feature story is distinguished from other types of nonnews by the quality of the writing. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The basics of good journalism and good writing in general all apply to feature writing. The world of journalism has changed because of fake news, social media, and the technology age. On july 1, we attended the feature writing 101 workshop hosted by writers block philippines. This type of story has its basis upon timely news happening with a humaninterest angle is called a news feature often a news.
Features aim not only to thoroughly explore a topic by conducting interviews with numerous experts or the key people involved, but to offer a previously unseen perspective on an event, issue, or person. A feature lead is designed to capture the eye of the reader, telling them that the story is worth reading. This is reporting on daily events from crime to politics, on a local or national scale. Before one starts crafting a feature article, he must master the nutty gritty of writing so that even the. Part of a journalism 101 lecture from jamie lynn gilberts jou 217 featureeditorial writing class at durham technical community college. Jan 22, 2010 the best journalism engages as it informs. The main subtypes are the news feature and the humaninterest story. Feature writing articles feature articles are in depth articles that go into great detail about events, topics, trends, or even people. Among sports writers, feature stories tend to be either. He is precise and straight to the point and is guided by the abc of journalism that is accuracy, balance and clarity. Background information identifying feature news articles with tips on how to write a feature news story. A journalist reports news, which can be through print, television, radio, or even the internet. If youre writing about a person, here are some facts readers will want to know. Students who win an award or who do something significant such as scoring 1600 on sat or qualifying for olympic games.
What are the types of journalistic writing answers. 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. The different types of journalism freelancewriting. Without the passage of the april tax levy, mexico high school knew the odds were slim to none in favor of building a new computer lab. Types of feature stories in journalism study lecture notes. 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. News features differ from hard news stories in tone and structure but are just as vital to readers experience of a newspaper, website or magazine.
Learn how to analyze features and how to research, report and write your own. Another term used to categorize feature writing is longform journalism. Jul 30, 2019 for those who love words and the craft of writing, theres nothing like producing a great feature story. Through whose eyes is the story told whose point of view. Typical types there are many kinds of feature stories. Concepts of the appropriate role for journalism vary between countries. Part of a journalism 101 lecture from jamie lynn gilberts jou 217 feature editorial writing class at durham technical community college. To conceive, report, write and revise several types of feature stories. This journalism lecture focuses on the basics of feature writing. Feature writing notes journalism flashcards quizlet. A good feature writer will at one time use all of the five leads. Journalism helps to explain the events that impact our lives and is developed in a number of forms and styles.
Feature stories got their name from the feature section in which these types of articles previously appeared. A feature is a longer piece of writing than a news story. These skills the students will use repeatedly over the course of the year. Types in journalism mean different fields of journalism that are independent of each other generally, they use differen. Feature writing provides scope, depth, and interpretation of trends, events, topics or people. The most common types used in feature articles are anecdotal leads and descriptive leads. If you were a journalist writing a feature story, you might start with description or an anecdote. A study at the university of michigan shatters some myths.
Click here for more information on the different types of features. Delayed lede triggers the readers curiosity or raises an important concern. Features are more indepth than traditional news stories and go beyond providing the most important facts. Not all news stories and articles are created equal. Soft news, humaninterest storiesdoes not have to be related to a. Jan 06, 2018 journalism lecture on types of print journalism. Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on events. Julie wagoner can often be found writing freelance articles on concerts, musicians, and other entertainment related subjects.
For those who love words and the craft of writing, theres nothing like producing a great feature story. A feature story is often defined by its length and style, not its subject matter. You also learn how to grab the attention of editors and audiences, and create successful feature stories for magazines, newspapers and online publications. Dec 02, 2016 feature journalism is a branch of journalism. Profiles, liveins, and trend stories provide the human angle. A sidebar runs next to the main story or elsewhere in the same edition, providing an audience with additional information on the same topic. The main sub types are the news feature and the humaninterest story a feature story is distinguished from other types of nonnews by the quality of the writing. Feature feature article feature storyan umbrella genre of journalism in newspapers, onlineeditions and magazines, with different subcategories types. Analysing featureread the example feature story and pay attention to the followin things. When journalists write features, they often use a hook, a type of opening that grabs a readers. Personality interviews are interesting because of the individual rather than the subject matter. But column writing is the hardest type of writing of all because it requires good thinking. A shocking statement or statistic your lead can be a very unusual statistic.
To learn to constructively critique and be critiqued. What are the different kinds of reporting in journalism. To examine markets for journalism and learn how stories are sold. Feature writing caven masuku, gweru, zimbabwe introduction a good feature writer is neither wordy nor flowery. Here we will discuss in detail the different types of feature stories in journalism. Apr 07, 2012 feature articles, though also somewhat formulaic, are harder because they require good writing. Feature articles, though also somewhat formulaic, are harder because they require good writing. Difference between hard news and features in magazines. Stories should be memorable for their reporting, crafting, creativity, and. Sep 18, 2017 this is in response to a beautiful feature story written in my hometown newspaper. The purpose of feature writing writing for strategic communication. The most notable differences between features and hard.
To teach the value of listening to the written word. Know about the types of journalism for a rewarding media. As there are many types of journalism but some type of journalism is most important like. 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. 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. Lecture 1 of a series of lectures on feature writing. The word journalism applies to the occupation, as well as citizen journalists who gather and publish information. It is important to understand the circumstances that warrant a feature piece from a strategic. 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. First, write a straight news lead for each of the following stories. Their goal is to thoroughly explore the topic with interviews and the use of experts or with even the main people involved. Feature writing is the primary form of writing that concordias student newspaper produces.
Feb 21, 2015 this journalism lecture focuses on the basics of feature writing. What is the topic and the anglefocus of the story written. We learned tips and tricks about feature writing to help us improve how we share stories on. Feature writing can stand alone, or it can be a sidebar to the main story, the mainbar. Hard news and soft news types of features writing and organizing. When the levy failed to pass, hope began to fail as well.
Each journalistic form and style uses different techniques and writes for different purposes and audiences. It uses quotes liberally and allows the reader to see the story through detailed description and vivid writing. Writing the feature story journ x419 uc berkeley extension. Features are generally longer than news stories, allow for more. Feature leads writing for strategic communication industries. Genrea specific type of journalism with its own form, style andrules. Obvious characteristics of the style include short, simple sentences and paragraphs. It is the product ol tactual reporting and reporting to which are added story elements of imaginative writing and interpretation. May 09, 2018 as there are many types of journalism but some type of journalism is most important like. Feature leads and endings sacksteins journalism resources. Investigative journalism aims to uncover the truth about a particular subject, person, or event. Develop an understanding of how feature stories blend journalism and art, exploring the dual nature of features based on facts but with the voice of a novel. It differs from headline journalism in the length of the piece and the level of detail given to the subject. Characteristics and types of feature linkedin slideshare.
Journalistic media include print, television, radio, internet, and, in the past, newsreels. Before saying anything let us for clear the difference between types and beats. A feature story is a piece of nonfiction writing about news. If youre writing about a person, here are some facts. When articles or scripts succeed at this, they often are cast as what is known as features or contain elements of a story. The different types of journalism freelance writing medium. Sep 29, 2016 delayed lede triggers the readers curiosity or raises an important concern. Feature writers have the extra time to complete background.
Different forms of journalistic writing mass communication talk. Fake news has given the press a bad reputation, and the mass media is perceived as biased. Features aim not only to thoroughly explore a topic by conducting interviews with numerous experts or the key people involved, but to offer a previously unseen. Each journalistic form and style uses different techniques and writes for different. This is in response to a beautiful feature story written in my hometown newspaper. Pdf feature writing in journalism caven masuku academia. Some editors dispute the emphasis on soft writing and refer to it as jello journalism.
Feature feature article feature storyan umbrella genre of journalism in newspapers, onlineeditions and magazines, with different subcategoriestypes. Here are some suggestions for polishing feature writing. This type does not use many of the fiction writers devices, since its purpose is to. She is also a professional journalist with experience in public relations, copywriting, content management, editing, creative writing and social media. Or, your instructor may ask you to write a complete feature based upon one of these sets of facts. 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. Journalistic writing is a style of writing that is used to report news stories in a variety of media formats. Suggested reading the art and craft of feature writing, william blundell, plume, 1988 note.
There are different types of journalism, each serving a different purpose and audience. Journalism refers to the news or feature stories light, entertainment stories that are expressed either in a descriptive way or concise pattern through different types of media. The basics of feature writing journalism lecture youtube. It is the product ol tactual reporting and reporting to which are added story elements of. 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. The students will learn the steps of writing an effective feature story including interviewing, taking notes, writing the lead, and deciding on an overall theme to the piece.
Types of journalism writing and reporting by content types of journalism can also be divided based on what it covers. The purpose of feature writing writing for strategic. Examples of feature stories include news features, profiles, spot features, trend stories, and liveins. Different kinds of feature stories university interscholastic. But most feature articles contain one or more of the following elements.
Feature stories, on the other hand, are soft news because they are not as timely, not as swiftly reported. 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 research are the foundations of all forms of. To write a good column requires more than just the ability to articulate an opinion. The trend story would likely appear in the lifestyle, fashion, cooking, hightech, or entertainment section. Features come in many different types and are widely used in magazines, newspapers and online.
222 378 1035 719 585 340 15 979 79 1445 1359 753 980 1259 180 896 865 1020 368 1385 1469 428 190 23 166 885 735 203 1134 469 935 860 368 558 968 136