1.4 The Role of Feature Writing in Journalism
4 min read•july 30, 2024
Feature writing goes beyond basic facts, offering depth and human interest to journalism. It provides context, explores implications, and brings stories to life through vivid descriptions and character profiles, engaging readers on a personal level.
This form of journalism complements by offering in-depth analysis and diverse perspectives. It allows for nuanced exploration of complex topics, combining timeliness with depth to create a more comprehensive and engaging media landscape.
Feature writing's value
Providing depth, context, and human interest
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- Goes beyond basic facts to offer comprehensive and nuanced perspectives on events, issues, and people
- Focuses on the human element and personal stories, adding emotional resonance to journalism
- Provides background information, historical context, and expert analysis, helping readers better understand complex topics and current events
- Brings stories to life through vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and character profiles, engaging readers on a personal level
- Explores the broader implications and long-term consequences of news events, providing a more complete picture of their significance
Enhancing the overall journalism landscape
- Complements hard news reporting by providing a more in-depth and reflective look at the stories behind the headlines
- Builds upon the foundation of hard news reporting, offering additional insights, perspectives, and analysis that enrich readers' understanding
- Combines the timeliness of hard news with the depth and context of feature writing, creating a more comprehensive and engaging media landscape
- Allows for a greater diversity of voices and viewpoints by including interviews with a wide range of sources and experts
- Provides space for journalists to explore complex topics in greater detail and present a more nuanced and balanced view of the issues
Feature writing vs hard news
Focus and format differences
- Hard news reporting focuses on immediate facts and details of breaking events, while feature writing provides a more in-depth and reflective look
- Feature articles often build upon the foundation of hard news reporting, offering additional insights, perspectives, and analysis
- The longer format of feature articles allows for a more detailed exploration of complex topics and a more nuanced presentation of issues
- Feature writing employs narrative techniques, such as character development, dialogue, and scene-setting, to create a more immersive reading experience
Complementary roles in journalism
- The combination of hard news and feature writing creates a more comprehensive and engaging media landscape
- Hard news provides the essential facts and updates, while feature writing adds depth, context, and human interest
- Feature writing allows for a greater diversity of voices and viewpoints, enriching the overall journalism landscape
- The interplay between hard news and feature writing helps readers gain a more complete understanding of events and issues
Feature writing's impact on readers
Informing and educating
- Tackles important social, cultural, and political issues, providing readers with valuable insights and information
- Helps shape readers' understanding of the world by offering in-depth analysis and commentary
- Provides context and nuance, helping readers better comprehend complex topics and current events
- Includes a mix of informative and entertaining elements, such as humor and creative wordplay, to keep readers engaged
Engaging and entertaining
- Employs compelling storytelling and vivid descriptions to keep readers engaged with the subject matter
- Uses narrative techniques, such as character development and dialogue, to create a more immersive and emotionally engaging reading experience
- Highlights human stories and personal experiences, fostering empathy and connection between readers and the subjects of the articles
- Incorporates entertaining elements, such as humor and irony, to maintain reader interest and engagement
Feature writing's influence on society
Shaping public opinion and raising awareness
- Plays a significant role in shaping public opinion on important social, political, and cultural issues through in-depth analysis and commentary
- Raises awareness of underreported stories and gives voice to marginalized communities, inspiring action for change
- Explores the human impact of policy decisions and social trends, helping readers understand the real-world consequences
- Counters stereotypes, challenges assumptions, and promotes a more informed and empathetic public discourse
Documenting cultural trends and driving progress
- Serves as a barometer of cultural trends and attitudes, documenting the evolving values, beliefs, and experiences of a society over time
- Sparks conversations and debates around important issues, contributing to a more engaged and informed citizenry
- Helps drive social and cultural progress by raising awareness, promoting understanding, and inspiring action
- Provides a historical record of the significant events, issues, and experiences that shape a society's development
Key Terms to Review (17)
Anecdote: An anecdote is a brief, engaging story that illustrates a point or conveys a message, often based on personal experience or observation. It serves as a powerful tool to draw readers in, create emotional connections, and provide context or humor within various forms of writing, including personal essays and feature stories.
Descriptive language: Descriptive language refers to the use of vivid and specific details that appeal to the senses, helping to create a mental image for the reader. This type of language is essential in storytelling, allowing writers to immerse readers in the scene, enhance emotional impact, and convey mood and atmosphere effectively.
Editorial voice: Editorial voice refers to the unique style and tone that a writer uses to convey their perspective in written works, particularly in feature writing. It shapes how readers perceive the author's personality and viewpoints, creating a distinct narrative that can engage, inform, or persuade. The editorial voice plays a crucial role in feature writing by establishing a connection with the audience and guiding them through the story while also aligning with the publication's guidelines and audience expectations.
Emotional Appeal: Emotional appeal refers to a persuasive technique that aims to evoke strong feelings in the audience to motivate a response or action. It connects deeply with readers by tapping into their emotions, making content more relatable and memorable, which is crucial for engaging storytelling in journalism.
Hard news: Hard news refers to timely and factual reporting on significant events, typically focused on topics like politics, crime, disasters, and economic issues. This type of news is characterized by its straightforward delivery of facts and is often urgent in nature, aiming to inform the public quickly about important developments. Hard news is essential in journalism as it serves to keep society informed and engaged in current affairs.
Immersive reporting: Immersive reporting is a journalistic approach that seeks to deeply engage the audience by providing a firsthand experience of a story, often using techniques like virtual reality, multimedia, or participatory journalism. This method helps to convey the emotional weight and complexity of events, allowing readers to connect with the narrative on a personal level. It enhances storytelling by placing the audience within the context of the situation, making them feel as though they are part of the experience.
Inverted Pyramid: The inverted pyramid is a writing style used in journalism where the most important information is presented at the beginning of the story, followed by supporting details in order of decreasing importance. This structure allows readers to quickly grasp the essential facts, making it particularly effective for news stories and investigative features where clarity and immediacy are crucial.
Joan Didion: Joan Didion is an influential American writer known for her distinctive style and insightful commentary on American culture, personal experience, and societal issues. Her work often blends personal narrative with broader observations, making her essays and articles powerful examples of personal essays that resonate deeply with readers.
Narrative arc: A narrative arc is the structure that guides a story through its beginning, middle, and end, showcasing the development of characters and plot over time. It helps in creating emotional engagement and a clear path for readers to follow, making it essential in storytelling across various forms of writing.
Nut Graph: A nut graph is a key paragraph in feature writing that summarizes the essence of the story, typically positioned after the lead. It provides context and significance, helping readers understand why the story matters and what to expect. This critical component connects the storytelling elements to the overall narrative by encapsulating the main point or theme of the piece.
Primary source: A primary source is an original document or firsthand account that provides direct evidence about a subject. These sources are created at the time when the events occurred or were created by individuals who experienced those events, making them invaluable for research and storytelling. They can include diaries, interviews, photographs, official documents, and more, allowing journalists to capture authentic voices and perspectives.
Profile piece: A profile piece is a type of feature writing that focuses on a particular individual, often highlighting their personality, experiences, and achievements in a narrative format. It allows the writer to create an in-depth portrayal of the subject, offering readers insight into their life, motivations, and the context in which they operate. Profile pieces often blend storytelling with journalistic research, emphasizing human interest and personal connection.
Quote attribution: Quote attribution is the practice of identifying and crediting the source of a direct quotation in journalism, ensuring that the voice and perspective of the speaker are accurately represented. This practice is crucial as it enhances credibility and transparency, allowing readers to understand who said what and in what context. By properly attributing quotes, journalists maintain ethical standards while providing clarity and authenticity to their narratives.
Reader engagement: Reader engagement refers to the connection and interaction a reader has with a piece of writing, which keeps them interested and invested in the content. This connection is crucial for effective feature writing, as it involves adapting style, tone, and voice to resonate with the audience. By understanding how to engage readers, writers can craft compelling narratives that hold attention and provoke thought.
Soft news: Soft news refers to journalism that focuses on more human-interest stories, entertainment, lifestyle topics, and emotional narratives rather than hard facts or serious news. It plays a vital role in capturing audience attention and engaging them through relatable content, often aiming to inform or entertain rather than strictly report. This type of news contrasts with hard news, which is characterized by timely, fact-based reporting on significant events.
Target audience: The target audience refers to a specific group of people that a writer aims to reach with their content. Understanding the target audience helps tailor the message, style, and tone of writing to effectively engage and resonate with that particular group.
Tom Wolfe: Tom Wolfe was a prominent American author and journalist known for his influential work in the genre of New Journalism, which combines literary techniques with factual reporting. His unique narrative style and keen observations provided a fresh perspective on various aspects of American life, making his work a vital source of ideas and inspiration for feature stories, showcasing the role of feature writing in capturing the human experience.