NEWSPAPER FEATURE STORY:The Business Story, The Medical Story

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Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

LESSON 12

NEWSPAPER FEATURE STORY

The concept is to write something like a non-fiction short story: quotation-filled, descriptive, entertaining,

informative. First, it needs to do some research check the newspaper library for previous stories about

the subject. Story will be even stronger if a nationally or an internationally recognised source is used.

Beginning reporters working for small-circulation dailies are expected to be able to write both news and

feature stories. Often a reporter's first months on the job may consist of even more feature writing than

weighty news writing, until a "beat" is assigned or the reporter otherwise gains the confidence of the

editor.

Feature writing, then, is a crucial weapon in the arsenal of writing talents required of the professional

print journalist, particularly now, when broadcast news also is focusing more and more on such popular

stories.

A feature story is a journalistic article that is typically both original and descriptive. Some feature stories

are geared toward entertainment with little information. Other features inform, but entertain little. The

best combine both aspects.

A feature story is original in two ways. First, it is original in respect to the way it is written. News stories

are commonly written in what is called the inverted pyramid style. This rigid form, which evolved about

the time of the American Civil War, demands that a story begin with a one-paragraph lead of one or

perhaps two sentences summing up the essence of the story. The lead is short, typically less than 35

words. The rest of the story is written in a declining order of importance, with information proceeding

from the most important to the least important.

The inverted pyramid made sense during the Civil War because stories often were filed using telegraph

lines, which could be disrupted at any time. In that situation, it obviously was a good idea first to send a

summary--or what journalists today call the lead of the story--and then to transmit the rest of the story

with information in a declining order of importance. The inverted pyramid style of news-writing makes

even more sense today, for two reasons. First, readers can quickly scan the story by reading the lead and

perhaps a few additional paragraphs. Second, busy editors can cut lengthy news stories simply by

removing less important material from the bottom of the story.

Unlike the news story's inverted pyramid style, the feature story's form is more fluid. Feature stories

probably date to the beginning of world journalism, but they began to assume their modern form in the

United States in the "penny press" of the l830s. They most strongly resemble short stories in structure.

For example, they have distinct beginnings, middles and ends. Feature stories, unlike news stories, aren't

intended for the scan-fling reader. They must be read completely in order to make sense. They also must

be edited carefully by removing various sections from throughout the text, rather than just from the end.

Features are also original because they can be about virtually any subject that falls within the realm of

"human interest," unlike news stories, which presumably are written only because they cover newsworthy

events.

Human interest obviously means what "interests' people and a good rule of thumb is that anything that

interests the feature writer and the editor is also likely to interest a substantial number of readers. Human-

interest stories can be about both "people" and "things," but journalists know that "people" stories

typically are more interesting and are more often read than are stories about "things." For that matter,

stories about unusual events are more interesting than stories about usual events.

In summary, if you've found a story about a person and something about that individual is unusual, you

probably have a good feature story idea.

Actually, feature stories need not even have the element of oddity for them to contain human interest.

Some feature writers maintain they can write a good feature story about absolutely anyone and have, in

fact, proved it by opening the city telephone directory at random, pointing to a name, and then doing a

feature story on the person they've selected.

An overview

Feature stories tend to be descriptive, another element of the definition. News stories are supposed to be

objective, which often precludes description. For example, the news writer would rarely describe the

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

subject of a news story by height, weight, hair colour, and kind and type of clothing, unless that

description was vital to the story. Yet the feature writer routinely uses this type of description.

A kind of description, evoking imagery, is encouraged in a feature story. But it would likely be edited out

of any news story.

A feature story must remain above all journalistic, in addition to being original and often descriptive. By

that, the feature writer is expected to subscribe to the same standards of journalistic accuracy as the news

writer. He or she must verify the information, quote accurately and be fair and precise with description.

And the feature writer follows journalistic "style." Style is nothing more than a uniform approach to

punctuation, capitalisation, abbreviation, titles and, in some cases, spelling. Most American newspapers

today have a fairly uniform journalistic style. At one time, however, newspaper reporters would have to

master a local style every time they moved to a new newspaper.

In summary, a feature is subject to the same accuracy and style requirements as any other story in the

publication.

A feature story traffics in entertainment or information or both. It should also have entertaining moments,

perhaps through examples or "anecdotes" told by the mechanic. However, there is nothing wrong with a

feature that's very entertaining, with little valuable information. "Entertainment" in this context can mean

an interesting, amusing--or moving--feature story.

A feature story, then, is significantly different from a news story. The feature has a beginning, a middle

and an end, and is intended to be read completely and edited with care. The feature can be written about

almost anything, but commonly is written about an unusual person, place or activity. It is accurate,

usually filled with description and may be sheer entertainment, information-oriented or a combination of

both.

Newspaper feature story types: News and timeless features

Unlike flavours of ice cream, there are only two basic kinds of newspaper features.

One type is the news feature, which usually is tied to a breaking news event, is placed in the same general

location as the breaking story, and is often written under deadline pressure. This type of news feature is

called a "sidebar," in that it is a "side" article that accompanies the main news story. A variation is a news

feature that appears after the publication of the hard news story. Such a follow-up story is often called a

"second-day" feature.

The other basic kind of feature is the timeless story, which does not have to be used immediately in the

newspaper and can sometimes be written leisurely over a period of two or three days or even weeks or

months.

The news feature is perhaps a little less common than the timeless feature in most American newspapers.

This may be because the news feature often results in at least two stories on a given event: the news, or

"cover," story and its news feature. Two stories, of course, mean the editor will have to find twice as

much space and commit twice the staff time to coverage of a single event. At many newspapers where

space and personnel are at a premium, editors are often reluctant to make that decision. In addition,

feature stories, because of their use of description and detail, are often very difficult to write under

deadline pressure. Thus, because of space, staffing and time problems, many editors are prone to ignore

feature angles on breaking local stories.

For example, assume you are the editor of a small-town afternoon newspaper. Your deadline is about

noon. A school bus filled with children on a field trip crashes at about 9:00 A.M., and you learn about the

accident shortly before 10:00 A.M. You could easily assign a reporter to the story, which could gather the

facts by telephone and have the news story written by noon. However, if you want a sidebar feature about

the crash--perhaps a personality profile of the heroic bus driver who pulled injured children from the

wreck-- the story would be far more difficult to write by the noon deadline because it would probably

require an interview with the driver, who might not be immediately available by telephone. In addition,

the thorough feature writer would want to see the crash site firsthand and interview witnesses as well as

surviving children. That means more time. All of this would be difficult for one reporter to accomplish by

the noon deadline and probably would require assigning a second reporter to write the feature.

A good editor would assign the second reporter to do the feature if a reporter were, in fact, available. If

the editor lacked personnel, the available reporter could write the news story for deadline and the feature

for publication on the following, or second, day of the coverage.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

It is also possible, of course, to write a news feature about a continuing news event and to publish that

feature on a day when there is nothing about the main event in the paper. For example, if gasoline prices

have been skyrocketing for the past few weeks, it might be appropriate to research and write a feature

about the expense of getting a gallon of gasoline from the well to the neighbourhood service station.

Here's another example. A child is bitten by a rabid skunk. A feature writer is assigned to do a story on

the medical treatment required for humans who have been exposed to rabies. This story might follow the

original news story by four, five or even more days. Both of these examples, however, are generally

known as second-day stories.

The other basic type of feature, the timeless feature, is described by just what the words imply--a story

frozen in time. Like frozen food, the timeless feature will keep for a long time without spoiling. A

timeless feature might be written in early March and held for April or even May before it is published.

The careful feature writer, of course, will check back with the subjects of the story before it is published

to ascertain that no facts have changed since the interview. In most instances, nothing will have happened.

In other cases, ages or addresses will have to be updated. In rare instances, feature writers will find that

major changes will have occurred, perhaps even including the death of the featured subject or of others in

the story.

The news feature and the timeless feature have a number of characteristics in common. They are original,

both in form and subject matter. They both use description to give them life. They are held to tight

journalistic standards of accuracy. They inform or entertain, and sometimes they do both. In short, they

both fall within the definition of what a feature story is supposed to be.

In addition, news and timeless features share at least one other characteristic: They are popular with

readers. Many studies have shown that readers of general-circulation newspapers tremendously enjoy

well-written features. And a feature story with a photograph is an almost unbeatable recipe for high

readership because studies have shown that pictures also have extremely high readership value.

And in that sense, feature stories are a lot like ice cream. Few ice cream lovers are neutral about a hot

fudge sundae smothered with rich, foamy whipped cream and capped with a blushing cherry. And few

newspaper readers are neutral about a well-written, anecdotally rich, professionally illustrated news or

timeless feature.

News features: Categories and appeals

Feature stories, while journalistic, are first and foremost stories, with beginnings, middles and ends.

These stories--albeit with different characters in different circumstances--tend to recur so frequently that

they can be divided into familiar categories built around topics of universal appeal.

Let's look at the categories first.

There are at least 15 widely recognised types of newspaper features and many more when individual

variations within categories are considered. All can be either news or timeless features, with the exception

of the "commemorative" feature, which is almost always tied to a breaking news event.

Remember that while some categories are about things, people are more interesting. The effective feature

writer will try to transform the "thing" feature into a "people" feature.

The Business Story:

The problem with the business story is that it is easy to write a lacklustre little feature about what a

business sells (such as live lobsters), makes (such as cardboard caskets) or provides (such as removal and

replacement of aircraft warning lights for television and radio towers). Such stories, however, are boring

(except to the owner of the business), and interesting stories are usually very hard to come by because

business owners are fearful of tarnishing their images and (unlike government agencies) are not required

to provide you with any information unless shares in the business are traded on the stock exchange.

Here's how you can handle the business feature. In most cases, you should focus on an employee or the

owner of the business. If the business has competition, you should look for a timely or unusual angle--a

reason for writing the story about that particular business at that particular time--and then try to

concentrate on an individual. You should also mention the competition to avoid the appearance of giving

the business free advertising space. On the other hand, if it is a business with no competition, you could

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

zero in on why the owner started the business and what impediments he or she faced on the road to

success. Success is a universal appeal often used by storytellers.

Above all, be aware that you are not writing a free advertisement for the business. If your article reads

like copy you would expect to see from the business's advertising agency, press the "delete" button on

your video display terminal and start over.

The Commemorative Story:

Commemorative stories are news features pegged to the anniversary of an earlier news event. The

commemorative story is usually written initially at the first anniversary, with other stories following at

five-year intervals. Depending on the event, you can interview people who originally were involved in the

story, or, if the individuals are dead or otherwise unavailable, you can write an article capturing the mood

of the anniversary.

The Explanatory Story:

You can show the reader how electricity or natural gas reaches consumers' homes, how a check written at

a store in a distant city reaches the local bank, how a television newscast is assembled, or how a radio

commercial is created. Again, you should focus on a person in the process.

Be forewarned: This type of story requires saturation research; you have to know almost as much about

the process as does the expert in your story.

The First-Person Story:

In the typical first-person story, something dramatic happens to the writer that is so personal that nothing

less than the first person singular ("I") is appropriate. For example, read the first 45 words from an award-

winning New York Times feature about toxic shock syndrome.

The Historical Story:

The historical feature is usually loosely pegged to a breaking news event, which gives the feature writer

an excuse to do some research in the library and to show readers how their community or world has

changed.

The Hobbyist Story:

Everyone collects something, ranging from stuffed aardvarks to matchbook covers. Some hobbyists have

extraordinary collections. As a feature writer, your job is to make certain that you are writing about the

right collector--the one with the biggest, best or most unusual collection in your area. Check this out by

talking to other collectors who can identify dealers who in turn can lead you to national publications that

provide a clearinghouse for collectors across the country. If you're about to interview a collector with

10,000 rubber ducks and the editor of the national publication serving rubber-duck collectors says that's a

big collection, you're in business.

The How-To Story:

The interview with one or more experts who advise the reader how to accomplish a tricky task is a meat-

and-potatoes newspaper feature story. Because experts make a living charging customers for such

information, they are often reluctant to give much free advice in an interview. Consequently, you may

find yourself calling a number of professionals before you are able to piece together a coherent, helpful

account. These stories are usually timeless articles but can be news features if they are pegged to a season

or a news event such as a flood (for instance, how to dry a wet carpet).

The Invention Story:

You have probably heard about an inventor who is developing a light bulb that never burns out or perhaps

toothpaste that stains teeth red when they are inadequately brushed. Inventors are good feature material.

But there's hitch to this kind of story: Inventors usually will not give interviews until they have formally

applied for a patent to protect their ideas, and conservative inventors will not discuss their ideas until a

patent has actually been granted, a process that often takes years. Timing is the key.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

The Medical Story:

People get sick. And people die, some well before their time. There are strong feature stories in illness

and death, albeit tough ones to write.

Let's look at stories of illness first. Serious illnesses require huge amounts of money. Some people don't

have adequate medical insurance. Thus, relatives of a sick person--often of a sick child--frequently seek

out feature writers to chronicle the family's financial plight in hopes that the story may trigger donations.

If the medical insurance is adequate but the disease is unusual, the medical story often is focused on the

struggle to find the appropriate treatment. If the ill person has recovered from the disease, a story can be

written tracing the struggle to overcome the illness.

A variation on the illness story is the medical breakthrough story, which often focuses on a doctor who

has succeeded in isolating the cause of a disease.

Stories about impending death are extremely difficult to write because of the emotional toll on both the

interviewee and the feature writer. Nonetheless, such stories are occasionally written. A person who

learns of terminal illness undergoes certain attitude changes. Eventually, many people approaching death

find comfort in leaving a message for the living--perhaps a warning to live life fully or to avoid the

habits that have brought on the disease. The feature story carries that message.

The Number Story:

This kind of feature uses interviews with experts and a familiar number such as "10" to put a problem--

and sometimes a solution--in perspective.

The Odd-Occupation Story:

Who washes the outside windows of the city's tallest building? What's a workday like for a modem

gravedigger? Who heads the city police bomb squad, and what does that work involve? And who changes

the little light bulbs on top of the local television station-transmitting tower?

Every community has scores of individuals with unusual jobs--occupations that are dangerous,

unappealing, or simply strange. Such stories should prove interesting to your readers.

A cautionary note: In the past, some fairly ordinary occupations became "odd" when a female selected a

traditionally male job--such as automobile mechanic--or a male opted for a traditionally female-filled

position, but less feature value exists today in sex-role stories. A male "nanny" might be interviewed in a

wider feature about child-care experts, but not merely because he is a male looking after a child.

The usual story approach requires you to find a person who has held an odd occupation for some time and

who enjoys it, and to interview that person about how the job is performed, why he or she chose the field,

or both.

The Overview Story:

Some kinds of features--for example, stories dealing with missing children or with arson--can be

supported with voluminous statistics from various official sources. These statistics can be used to provide

the reader with an informational overview of the problem, in addition to the emotional, humanistic

qualities you will want to inject into the story.

The Participatory Story:

Participatory stories go back to the days of Nellie Bly of Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Bly, whose

real name was Elizabeth Cochrane, had herself committed to a New York State insane asylum in order to

write about conditions there,. Frank Sutherland, a reporter for The Tennessean in Nashville and later

president of the Society of Professional Journalists, did the same thing in Tennessee about 75 years later.

And the participatory story is the trademark of writer George Plimpton, who, among other things, joined a

football team and acted in a movie for stories.

Hunter S. Thompson, who used to write for Rolling Stone magazine, called this blatant injection of the

writer into the story "Gonzo journalism." Gonzo or not, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with living a

role in order to write about it, unless you misrepresent yourself to write about the intimate details of other

people. And even that may not be wrong in the case of investigative reporters such as Bly and Sutherland,

who had no other means to investigate serious social problems.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

However, most feature writers using this approach will, like Plimpton, make arrangements beforehand

and will "live" the story with the permission of the participants.

In Pakistan, it is a rarity.

The Profile Story:

You can profile practically anyone or anything. Of course, profiles are usually written about people, with

their cooperation. You usually pick someone of interest, ask the subject for an interview, research and

then interview the individual and finally talk to other people who know the subject.

The profile--with or without cooperation--should paint a word portrait of the subject. The reader should

come away from the profile with an understanding of how the person looks, sounds, and thinks.

Groups, institutions, events, and things can be profiled, too. In fact, in the early 1980s writer Tracy

Kidder even profiled the birth of a computer in his award-winning book, The Soul of a New Machine.

The Unfamiliar Visitor Story:

A visitor often offers a unique perspective on a local problem, culture or event. If the visitor is available

for an interview, his or her perspective can often help readers understand their world better.

Some of these features tend to be further categorised because they are published in specific newspaper

"sections" such as business, entertainment, fashion, food, health, home, religion, society and travel. For

example, profile stories often appear in business, entertainment, health, religion, and society and travel

sections.

On the other hand, first person and participatory stories often wind up in newspaper Sunday "magazines."

And commemorative, historical and unfamiliar-visitor stories frequently find their way into a newspaper's

primary news section.

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