What is a feature story?
It gets into the lives of people.
It tries to explain why and how a trend developed.
Unlike news, a feature does not have to be tied to a current event or a breaking story. But it can grow out of something that’s reported in the news.
It may be a profile of a person or a group -- an athlete, a performer, a politician, or a community worker or a team, a choir or a political organization. Or perhaps it’s an in-depth look at a social issue -- like violence in Canadian schools or eating disorders among young women. It could also be a story that gives the reader background on a topic that’s in the news -- like a story that explains how land mines work and the history of their use in war.
A feature story is usually longer than a news story -- but length is not a requirement! What’s more important is the form the story takes.
Think of the feature as the journalistic equivalent of an essay. Follow these guidelines:
start with a premise or theme
present information and opinions that back you point,
bring the reader to a conclusion.
The feature often explores several different points of views, even when the story is about one particular person.
The story behind the newsHere’s an example of how a feature can explain and explore a story that makes news:
Your local newspaper reports on the front page that school enrollments are dropping in your small community. The reason? Many people are being forced to leave the town to look for jobs in bigger cities and obviously, their children go with them. As a reporter you can go beyond the facts and figures in the news story by talking to one of the families who are leaving. How do they feel? What made them decide to go? What will they miss about home? What are they expecting in their new community? How do the children feel about leaving their school and their friends? Or you can look at the story from the point of view of the people who remain in the town. What’s it like to lose friends and family to far-away cities? How does it affect the school? What about the local economy?
The news story tells the audience what happened. The feature will tell them why and how it happened, how the people involved are reacting, and what impact the decision is having on other people.
Personality in profile
Indulge your curiosity -- and that of your readers -- with a profile of an interesting person.
You can look at someone who’s making news in your community, province or country. Or it could be someone who's relatively unknown to the public but who has done something unusual or remarkable. Here’s one example:
Your town elects a full slate of councillors to represent and serve the community. One is a 19-year-old student who was active in youth parliament and student politics. That makes him the youngest elected official in your province. But that’s not the whole story! He gets the most votes of any of the councillors, and according to the election rules, that makes him deputy mayor. What’s it like to be a politician when you’re still in your teens? What does your life experience add to the council? Are you seen as a spokesman for your generation -- but not the community as a whole? What do the other councillors think of their young colleague? Do people take you seriously?
That young politician may not be famous. But he’s certainly done something new. And his experiences will be something that others will want to learn more about.
Take a look at people from the world of sports, entertainment, politics, science, technology, business, health, international development, community activism, education, the military, the fine arts or any other field that interests you.
You can choose a subject and find out the basic facts of the person’s life and work. What have they learned so far? Are there any surprises? Is there an area of this person's life or work that the student would now like to focus on?
Write your profile by telling your readers the facts of this person's life — while adding the color and details that make them unique.
Talk to the person themselves whenever possible and use their own words to help tell their story.
Tracking a trendMany of the best stories come from reporters’ observations of the world around them. Here’s just one example of how you can come across a great feature story in your daily life:
YOU are hanging around with friends at lunch time and talking about plans for the weekend. Someone says they’ve heard that the town council is considering a curfew for teens. Everyone under 16 has to be off the streets by 11pm on weekends. You have your own curfew - set by your parents - but you are surprised to learn that the mayor wants to put one in place for everyone.
You talk to some of your friends to find out what they think. You and other concerned teens go over to the town hall and ask the mayor or one of the councillors why they see the need for a curfew. You surf the Net and find out what other towns and cities have been doing.
You find that this is a bit of trend in North America.
What you now have is the basis for a really interesting feature. You have taken a little piece of information and investigated further to find out what’s going on. The story will focus on the issue and the thoughts and feeling of the people involved — namely local teenagers and the people who made the decision about the curfew.
Feature writing tipsThe basic guidelines for good writing apply to all types of writing. However, if you expect to hold your readers attention for 1,000 words or more, your writing must be must be lively, specific and clear.
As a student writer you have to start with a lead that captures your reader’s attention.
It could be an anecdote you have heard during the course of your research.
It could be a description of a person, place or thing that draws the reader in and encourages them to learn more.
It could a newsy lead that highlights the point of the story.
Move your story along with descriptions of what happened, quotes from people involved in the issue, and details that place the reader in the midst of the action. Make sure your ending is meaningful. Your closing words should make an impact on your readers and tie the various strands of your story together.
A powerful quote can often make for a good ending. Or you may want to come full circle and refer back to a word or an image used in your opening sentences.
A 700 to 800 word limit will make an ideal newspaper feature whereas magazine features can be more elaborated and descriptive in nature with more than 15000 words! It is only required to be seen that the Beginning, middle and end part holds good in any literary exercise especially by adopting the four basic skills: a flair for good writing, an eye for the market, a talent for sound organization and writing skills.
Development journalism
Development journalism needs to adopt an action-oriented approach to help the country overcome challenges like poverty and illiteracy.
It therefore becomes crucial to question why despite ‘development’ journalism’s growing popularity, the empowered media doesn’t come across as action or cause oriented. As ‘development’ journalists increase in numbers, so do statistics on poverty, corruption, illiteracy, diseases and pollution. Is there some confusion between ‘development reporting’ and ‘development journalism’? What exactly is development journalism?
The Definition
According to Aman Namra, development journalism should focus on the needs of the poor, the deprived, the marginalized and should emphasize their effective participation in development planning. "The kind of journalism that motivates the active participation of the affected people and advocating for their interests, in place of the views of policy makers and planners." 2
Tsedu states that development journalism "is about highlighting what people are doing to help transform their lives. Whether they do this alongside the government or on their own is immaterial. The premise that development journalism is necessarily government oriented is faulty." He believes that since the strong and mighty are able to look after themselves, journalists should concern themselves with the plight of the poor and the weak.7
"Development is seen as humanity’s common objective and interpreted as a quest both to eradicate poverty and protect the environment," according to Berger5. Environmental journalism and development journalism go hand in hand. One is linked to the plant while the other to the people.
And yet, environmental journalism leads to bigger success stories while development journalism progressively seems to be turning into a fad. The difference is that environmental campaigns and journalism have empowered the people - the common mass. It is Recycle Paper vs. We are running out of trees. Development issues covered today are still largely fixed on informing.
We should strive for journalism where a common problem is identified and followed by probable solutions, leading to development. Merely reporting issues related to poverty, corruption, hunger and illiteracy is not only depressing but has been repeatedly done. Journalists committed to development should look at the situation beyond just reporting it.
Put simply, it is necessary to talk about development not in the ideological sense but in tangible and measurable terms - journalism that leads to actual development.
Court reporting
Court reporting is far more that sitting in court with a pen and paper. it is about examining the human angle, developing a story to i9ts full potential and giving the reae a clear, balanced picture. if an individual is cleared by a jury or on a legal technicality, try to interview them, their story is often better than anything anyone has heard in court.
No fundamental differences exist between court reporting and any other reporting. the requirements are the same: to understand what has happened and to report it fairly, accurately, clearly and in manner to catch the attention of the reader.
This can be fairly nerve-racking. You're faced with a new experience, or one that you've only seen in courtroom dramas. And knowing what you should do by now about the contempt of court act, you may feel as though you're on trial yourself.
Key information like:
- the name of the presiding magistrate or judge
- the name of the prosecuting lawyer
- details of cases worth looking out for
Cases usually start with the prosecuting lawyer outlining what happened. this is a key element of the case which will contribute a large part of your story, so you should be ready to take a full note.
Checklist
Visit the whole range of courts.
Go as often as you can.
Find out what time the court opens and cases start.
Take a law book with you to read.
Find out where the prison van accesses the court. If you're taking film footage, this may be one of the few shots that you can get.
Do not talk during the case. no chewing gum.
When taking notes do so quietly. Shorthand helps. Be accurate and check the spelling of all names. Don't get this wrong or you could end up being sued for defamation.
If there are journalists present, have a chat to them about the case and how they would approach reporting it.
You can leave the court any time, but choose your moment with care and leave quietly.
Parliamentary reporting (lobby reporting/journalist)
Parliamentary reporting is the foundation of 'fourth estate', what we called today for the journalist.
The 'Lobby Correspondents' are the main group of news reporters in political reporting. The lobby system is the main channel for the transmission of current political news: the main continuing political story is the relationship between prime minister and parliament house.
How well is the prime minister doing at present? How is the new legislation succeeding in its parliamentary passage? What conflicts are there in the cabinet/ who are the rising and falling stars within the government party and in opposition? When there is a big political story running, the senior newspaper lobby reporter/correspondent may be writing the front-page lead story for days or even weeks in succession.
The lobby system also contains many oddities, paradoxes, and obscurities. This reporting will look back to the1960s; lobby journalism perhaps reached its peak of importance. Since the 1960s both the political system and the media have opened and expanded. in particular there is now more television, there are more on-the-record press conferences. And also there is much more political column-writing and feature. However, within a more complex political system and within a bigger total quantity of political journalism, the lobby system is still central.
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