TOP ACHIEVERS PRIVATE SCHOOL, INC.
Alicia; Cauayan; Santiago; Roxas; Solano; Ilagan
“The School of the Future”
Module in Campus Journalism
Month of January
Feature Story: Its Concepts and Nature
If defining news were a hard task for many writers due to its many perspectives,
feature stories would be less difficult. Many writers agree on the concepts and nature of
feature stories.
A feature story is an interesting article that focuses on certain people, places,
events or subject matters like career, relationships, money; health, lifestyle, among
others. Because it is so elaborative, a writer is "free as a bird" in crafting his ideas, in
weaving his ideas and in presenting his ideas. Again, redundant as it may, feature writing
breaks the box of rules where news writing is incarcerated.
With such a concept in mind, you may think that feature articles are longer, more
in-depth and more elaborate than hard news stories. They make use of the upright
triangle style rather than the inverted triangle approach most of the time. However, as a
writer, you must still keep in mind that feature stories are lodged under the umbrella of
journalism, whose foundations are facts, facts and facts. Hence, feature stories are not
opinion essays or editorials and should not be confused with creative writing or works of
fiction.
A feature story primarily banks on special human interest that may or may not be
closely tied to a recent news event. It goes into great detail regarding concepts and
ideas of specific market of interest.
Take this comparison. A feature story is like a spotlight in a concert hall. Everyone
in the concert hall may become the subject. Once the spotlight strikes a member of the
audience, he or she becomes distinct and eventually grabs the attention of everyone.
According to Okoye (2012), a feature story is an in-depth and factual write-up on a
topical issue which seeks to give comprehensive information in a more captivating and
relaxed style than straight news.
Meanwhile, Reuters Handbook of Journalism says that a feature story is "...an
insight into a trend or an issue or personality. It enlightens the reader about that trend,
issue or personality in a broad context. It uses specific examples to illustrate that trend
or issue and puts them in a broad framework that allows the social, economic, corporate
and/or political implications to shine through, whether sectoral, national or global."
A feature article, therefore, relates to so many forms and subjects. Its forms
include narrative stories, poems, essays, tales, anecdotes and others. Its subjects, on the
other hand, may include love, hatred, jealousy, emotions, war, friendship, and other
human forms of experiences. With its diverse forms, many campus papers believe that
feature page is the same with literary page. That is why there are campus papers which
have a section titled as "literary/feature" page. It must be clear to both beginning and
developing campus papers that literary and features are NOT similar.
Finally, writing a feature is a war of creativity on the use of language. It is so
stylistic that it entails a writer's constant reading and interminable practice.
Characteristics of Feature Stories
1. Variety of subject matter
As discussed previously, a feature story can take any topic under the sun.
The kindling of the reader's interest on such a topic primarily depends on the writer's
creativity on using the language.
2. Variety of tones
Since feature stories are meant to entertain other than to inform, the feature writer may
use variety of dramatic tone, say a creepy story, exciting narration, suspensive drama,
angry letter, morbid experience and the like.
3. Variety of form and style
Feature stories may use any form and any style depending on the writer's judicious
judgement to capture easily the reader's attention. One may use acrostic or literary
techniques in crafting stories, so long as the content is factual.
4. Well-organized
A feature story is actually an essay. Therefore, it follows a general format of having an
introduction, body and ending. Its contents, like all other pieces of writing, should be
logically arranged such that a smooth flow of ideas is attained.
Hence, it still follows the rules of thumb in effective writing.
5. Strikes keynotes in a first sentence
The secret of arousing reader's attention is to intrigue him at the beginning.
That is why feature stories need to be very striking at the first part. It does not
necessarily mean, though, that the first sentence summarizes the important details in
the first sentence like in straight news. If one does this, suspense is forfeited, excitement
is lost.
6. May or may not be timely
Unlike news articles, feature stories may skip immediacy because it is up for the writer's
dexterous use of the language to make the antiquated subject rise from the tomb and
capture the attention of the current readers.
Feature flourishes in: Qualities of a Well-Written Feature
Story:
1. Color
2. Fancy Well-researched
3. Wit and humor Catchy
4. Anecdotes Descriptive
5. Quotations Exciting
Reflective Emotional
Engaging
Neutral
Thorough
Types Of Features
• Personality profiles: A personality profile is written to bring an audience closer to a
person in or out of the news. Interviews and observations, as well as creative writing, are
used to paint a vivid picture of the person.
• Human interest stories: A human interest story is written to show a subject's oddity or
its practical, emotional, or entertainment value.
• Trend stories: A trend story examines people, things or organizations that are having
an impact on society. Trend stories are popular because people are excited to read or
hear about the latest fads.
• Backgrounders: A backgrounder--also called an analysis piece-adds meaning to current
issues in the news by explaining them further. These articles bring an audience up-to-
date, explaining how this country, this organization, this person happens to be where it is
now.
• In-depth stories: Through extensive research and interviews, in-depth stories provide a
detailed account well beyond a basic news story or feature
• Historical features: These features commemorate important dates in history or turning
points in our social, political and cultural life. They offer a useful juxtaposition of then
and now. Historical features take the reader back to revisit an event and the issues
surrounding it. You should aim at reporting the facts and nothing else.
