Feature Writing and Reporting. Jennifer Brannock Cox

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      Chapter 2 Concepts for Practicing Feature Storytelling

      Stock.com/damircudic

      Diving In: Becoming a Feature Writer

      Feature storytelling is not exclusive to specialized beat teams or elite magazine contributors; it is a type of journalism used by every reporter to help readers gain a fuller understanding of issues and truly immerse themselves in the experiences of others. A reporter on the crime beat might spend time riding along with police officers on duty and produce a narrative about the experience. A government reporter could research the history of a famed landmark, explaining its background, significance and the various contributions taxpayers make to maintain it. A courts reporter could publish a series of profiles on convicts who have earned degrees or learned trades while in prison.

      A feature reporter needs to demonstrate the qualities characteristic of every journalist: tenacity, curiosity, keen eyes and open ears. Beyond that, reporting features requires a thirst for knowledge, pressing you forward toward truth and deeper understanding. You have to be versatile and open-minded, ready to change directions at a moment’s notice to go wherever the story takes you.

      Feature storytelling allows you to tell a wide range of stories in ways that are fun and rewarding for you and engaging for your audience. Breaking news brings a rush of adrenaline and excitement, but feature stories help reporters to really shine, demonstrating their storytelling skills and adding value that will serve your readers as they dive deeper into the news.

      There are so many story types to choose from, it is hard to get bored writing features. Good feature writers let the story and sources dictate the style rather than trying to fit the news into a premade box that may be efficient but less fulfilling. Feature journalism is both challenging and rewarding, and the techniques discussed here will help you find new ways to approach and write articles that will engage your audience.

      Telling Stories With Value

      When journalists assess an event, they use news values—attributes that determine whether they should pursue a story, how much time and length to devote to it and where it should be placed in the news product. To make these decisions, reporters and editors ask questions about the occurrence, guided by the following news values (see Figure 2.1).

      Figure 2.1 News Values Impact

       Impact. How much does the story matter to our readers? How many people might be affected by it?

       Timeliness. Did it happen recently? Is there a particular day/month when this story might be most relevant to our readers?

       Proximity. Did the news event occur within our proclaimed coverage area? Is this a larger issue that can be localized to our readers?

       Prominence. Does the story involve people or organizations most readers would know or those who make decisions affecting our readers?

       Oddity/Novelty. Is this an unusual occurrence that would pique our readers’ interest? Is it something that has never happened before or has happened only rarely in the past?

       Conflict. Does the story involve two or more people/parties disagreeing? Will our readers want to weigh in on this issue with their opinions?

       Human Interest. Does the story involve average people doing extraordinary things? Are there elements of tragedy, inspiration or triumph to which our readers can relate?

       Helpfulness. Does this story help our readers make decisions about their lives or learn new information that might be useful to them?

      News stories may contain any or all of these values. All stories should include impact. If the audience would neither be affected nor interested by the article, it probably won’t make the publication. Many articles also contain timeliness and proximity if they are published in a newspaper or magazine with regular deadlines and a specific geographic location. The other values—prominence, oddity/novelty, conflict, human interest and helpfulness—vary from story to story.

      Words With Pros

      “Casting” for Feature Stories

       Interview with Lane DeGregory, Pulitzer Prize–winning enterprise reporter, Tampa Bay Times

      Cherie Diez, Tampa Bay Times

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