comm260w feature writing. recap special leads narrative/anecdotal contrast staccato direct address...

COMM260W

Feature writing

Recap Special leads

Narrative/AnecdotalContrastStaccatoDirect AddressQuestionQuote“None of the Above”

Traditionally, special leads are found in feature stories.

TodayFeature writing: The basicsIn-class exerciseAssignment

Feature Stories

Types of news storiesHard news

Chronicling as concisely as possible the 5W’s and the H.

Spot, breaking newsHard news events: school board meetings, elections,

disasters, accidents, etc. Soft news

Standing back to examine the people, the places and things that shape the world, nation or community.

Features Soft news events: How people are coping with credit

card debts; the reemerging popularity of arcade games on the Web

When to write a soft news story?Today, many news stories are

featurized. Therefore, the lines between news

and feature stories are becoming hazier than ever.The New York Times allows interpretive

reporting of breaking news.

When to write a soft news story?Profile people who made the newsExplain events that shook the news Analyze what is happening in the community,

nation or worldTeach an audience how to do somethingSuggest better ways to live in a complicated world Examine trends in constantly changing societiesLet people see something they haven’t seen beforeEntertain or humor an audience

(Itule & Anderson, 2007)

Feature Aims to entertain or/and inform

You don’t need to know, but you want to know.Often less timely

Emphasizes story tellingSometimes written from the second-person

perspective and, rarely, the first-person point of view.

Makes people to read the whole article, not just a lead. Feature leads should draw people into the story. Special leads usually works better than summary

leads.

Qualities of a feature (guidelines)Rich in Description and DetailThematically DrivenContain DialogueMakes Use of VoiceUse of Literary DevicesMeaningful Endings

Be logical!

A basic outlineBeginning

Scene-setter lead (block)Nut Graph & Explanation of

ImportanceBackground Info

BodyStory Details and Development

Memorable ending

Good beginning?Tell an anecdoteSet the sceneGive characters a faceMake it specificA GOOD quoteA startling statement

Memorable ending?Tell an anecdoteSet the sceneMake it specificA GOOD quoteA startling statement

Hint: Bring the story to a close by circling back and closing up your opening. Finish the story started there. It really does a superior job of giving a feeling of ending.

(Bobby Hawthorne, University of Texas)

The Writing Process1. Collect2. Bring order to chaos3. Freewrite4. Re-write5. Read aloud with a writing partner6. Re-write

Types of featuresPersonality ProfilesHuman InterestTrend StoriesIn-depth StoriesBackgrounders

Personality profiles

Human interest

Trend stories

In-depth story

WASHINGTON— For all of Barack Obama’s talk about change, there are signs that in style—if not substance —a new White House under Democrat Obama would operate much like the current one under President Bush. Think discipline, efficiency and secrecy. These are

hallmarks of Obama’s campaign, just as they have been for the past eight years in the leak-proof, tightly managed Bush administration. If Obama becomes the nation’s 44th president, however, the extraordinary history-making aspects of his ascension could, for a time, overshadow almost everything else.

Backgrounder

Examples from recent news stories

In-class exerciseGo online and find one feature story.What type of feature story is it?What is it about?What is one thing that you like about

it in terms of the writing?

Assignment