Lecture One & Two: Introduction and Recap of Feature Writing I

1.1 Introduction

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written
large in his life,” Virginia Woolf.

Woolf may have been talking about writing generally but she might as well have been referring
to feature writing. Writing features is not a haphazard activity but a deliberate effort undertaken
by the writer to lay bare the facts in the most creative, beautiful way. Writing feature stories
should be a passionate affair as one drawing out secrets from the depths of the writer’s soul.
Moreover, a good number of features are drawn from not only the writer’s but people’s
experiences as well. This lecture will discuss what features are; the nature of features which
includes differences between newspaper features and news stories; differences between
newspaper features and magazine articles and the characteristics of feature stories.

1.2 What is a feature?

Some undergraduate students encounter difficulties in distinguishing between a feature and a

news story. Feature writing involves the crafting of words to produce a human interest story,
also known as a feature, feature article or feature story. Pirita Juppi calls it ‘an umbrella’ of
journalism in newspapers, magazines and online editions.

Feature writing fulfils the functions of journalism in every sense of the word. Generally,
journalism should inform, educate and entertain. Feature writing is journalism that seeks to
share knowledge, inform the audience about something and simply to entertain. According to
Juppi, it is a type of journalism that has its own form, style and rules.

News in journalism is broadly categorized into two types: Hard and Soft news. Hard news is
anchored in the What, Who, When, Where, Why and Hows of newswriting and reporting (5Ws
+ H). Hard news often is event-centred and covers a wide range of topics such as politics,
accidents, natural disasters, wars, key milestones, major discoveries or breakthroughs and so
forth.

Soft news on the other hand, goes beyond the crust of hard news to delve deep into the human
interest realm. Soft news deals with issues such as entertainment, reasons, analyses,
background and interpretation. Often, it’s possible to obtain several feature stories from one
hard news story. For instance, recently, a prominent Member of Parliament in Kenya shot and
injured a DJ of a famous night club in Nairobi after a disagreement. The story rightly appeared
in the dailies as a hard news story on the morning of the event. A journalist can write several
feature stories from this news event: analyse gun laws in Kenya; write the background details
that led to the shooting-perhaps these are known friends from way back in primary school;
write a personality profile of the MP; document a history of gun violence involving other
lawmakers and what consequences befell them; explore a history of violence if the MP has any;
write a personality profile of the DJ complete with interviews from his friends and family, and
so on.

It should be noted that feature stories do not have to be related to recent or current events.
Features can be just about anything really, from pets, mundane activities, the life of a boarding
school student, to nuclear weaponry. In other words, feature stories are not time bound as news
stories are. These stories can appear as independent stories or can be written as sidebars to a
breaking story.

1.3 Definitions

This section gives different definitions from several scholars.

a) By Anonymous
A feature story in journalistic terms, is an article in newspapers, magazines or on the internet
which is intended to add depth and perspective in a story. It mostly dwells on the background
of an event and gives a human interest perspective to a story or a commentary on a particular
issue.

b) Okoye (2006)

A feature 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 the straight news.

c)Williamson (1975)

Feature writing is creative, subjective article writing that is designed to inform and entertain
readers.

Let’s examine his choice words to better understand this definition. Feature writers exercise
creativity in the way they pick out their sources, writing style and arranging the articles.
Subjectivity is a feature of feature articles since an author’s perceptions, impressions and
opinions are allowed. For example, a writer who believes in pro-life and sets out to write a
feature on the same is obviously biased. The writer is allowed to offer a particluar point of
view. Then the feature still performs its known functions of informing and entertaining.

d) Friedlander and Lee (2008)

The authors decribe a feature story as original, descriptive, journalistic, informative and
entertaining.

Let’s examine the five aspects identified above by Friedlander and Lee (2008):

Originality stems from two possibilities: the way the feature is written unlike the news story.
The origins of writing news can be traced back to the Civil War in America. Due to the
prevailing conditions, the easiest way to relay news was by telegraph and because of frequent
mechanical hitches, it became imperative that only the most important aspects were relayed,
leading to the inverted pyramid style of writing. The inverted pyramid calls for a short lead of
not more than 35 words that should contain the 5Ws and H. This kind of writing enables a
scanning reader to obtain the news as quickly as possible. However, feature writers need to
employ more creativity because their readers may not be in a hurry. The readers need to read
the entire piece to enjoy the story and get a sense of closure.

Friedlander and Lee (2008) also point out that a feature’s originality is felt in the content itself.
The feature must diligently seek out feature stories in every possible way. The feature can be
about virtually any subject as long as it has a human interest element in it. The subject can be
people or things. For example, Kenya has seen the mobile money revolution in Mpesa, run by
the country’s largest mobile operator, Safaricom. At the onset of this new way of transmitting
and receiving money, journalists had many opportunities to draw feature stories from it. Today,
Kenyans hardly carry paper money. Even the cost of the groceries on the streest can be settled
using mobile money. Virtually everything is paid for using mobile money such as fuel at petrol
stations, shopping at supermarkets and paying for government services on the individual’s e-
citizen portal. Many people have found employment through Mpesa by being agents
throughout the country. The Mpesa feature story may be about a thing but it has greatly
impacted Kenyans, making it a human interest story.

Descriptive. Friedlander and Lee (2008) report that news stories are supposed to be objective
which means news story writers cannot make use of description unless it’s particularly
necessary. They cannot describe the subject of a news story by height, weight, colour etc unless
that description were vital to the story. To feature writers, however, descriptive language is
what defines a feature and sets it apart from ordinary writing. For instance, supposing a news
writer is covering a demonstration by disgruntled workers of a factory. News writing would
mean the journalist reports the 5Ws and H, that is, who demonstrated, why, where, when and
how. The journalists can forget about coloring the story. Look at the example below:

A rowdy, uncouth group of Maendeleo laborers today staged an ugly demonstration

in Nairobi. The crowd, composed of ill-clothed, sweaty, nauseating men and women
marched along Harambee Avenue carrying placards reading unprintable slurs on the
person of COTU’s Secretary-General.

The above sample can hardly be called a news story. The writer’s dislike or disgust for the
demonstrators is pulpable. Not only does the excerpt contain many unnecessary adjectives, but
also plenty of negativity, pointing to the writer’s lack of objectivity. However, if the writer
intends for the reader to also read disgust into the same demonstration in a feature story, so be
it. But care must be taken to observe the ethics of writing because in the end, we want the
reader to respond appropriately. Good descriptive writing should evoke mental images in the
minds of the reader, whether positive or negative.

Journalistic. Feature writing is journalism hence must remain above all, journalistic. The
feature writer is expected to subscribe to the same standards of journalistic accuracy as the
news writer. A journalist sets out to inform, educate and entertain in a professional manner.
This includes observing the ABCs of newswriting. These are A-accuracy; B-Brevity; and C-
Clarity. The journalist ensures he/she follows journalism principles such as verification,
fairness and precision. The feature writer must also follow the journalistic ‘style’ where
grammar and punctuation are concerned.

Entertainment or information. Friedlander and Lee (2008) believe that a feature can be
entertaining with little valuable information. They state that a feature can also be informative;
and informative and entertaining at the same time.“Entertainment” means a story is
interesting, amusing or moving.

1.4. Differences between feature and news stories

Williamson (1975) notes that features are less perishable than conventional nonfiction or news
writing.

Ward (1993) provides the following list of differences bewteen feature stories and hard news:

a) An emphasis on anecdotes and case histories, telling stories and describing episodes in
someone’s life.

b) Detailed description of setting and place.

c) A narrative, story-telling style.

d) A softer lead, perhaps a description, anecdote or story that doesn’t long delay, letting the
reader know what the article is about.

e) A wider time frame, because features are usually written not for the next daily edition but
for a later time.

f) An in-depth approach, allowed partly because of having (i) more time to develop sources
and search out information and (ii )more space than is allowed for normal news articles.

g) A sense of unity, usually achieved by developing an overriding theme that holds material
together.

h) A different sense of organisation. Features often develop complete sections before moving
on to the next phase.

i) A people orientation. The reader gets to know character traits and sees people in action.

Other professionals compare feature writing to fiction such as short stories instead of news
stories. The major difference is that feature writers deal with reality. Benton Rain Patterson
(1986) identifies three basic straightforward rules for features:

1. Put people into the story

2. Tell a story
3. Let the readers see and hear for themselves
Feature stories are not lifeless, dreary matter-of-fact reports. They are often factual short stories
written in active voice. They have a plot. There is a story line. There are characters. There is a
beginning, a middle, and an end.

1.5 Characteristics of Feature Stories

(This list has been sourced from the list of references at the end of these notes)

1. Features are soft news stories.

2. Feature stories employ creative language.

3. Features are longer than news stories or hard news.

4. Features can arouse reader’s emotions.

5. Features are subjective, allowing for personal views or opinions.

6. Because they are not time-bound, feature stories have no expiry date. They can be read years
later and still make sense.

7. They are flexible especially with regard to writing the lead. There are many options available
to the writer. For instance, a writer can use the delayed lead, and does not have to relay
everything in the opening lines. The feature is also flexible concerning the use of tenses. Unlike
news stories which are primarily told in the simple past tense, a feature can use any tense, and
even toggle between the tenses. They are also flexible in terms of structure which can range
from chronology to non-linear structures.

8. Features can employ narration including a lead with a narrative hook.

9. The journalist is visible in the story and unlike a news story, he/she can be an active
participant.

10. The style of writing the feature is primarily descriptive, personal, humorous, emotional,
literary and colorful.

11. Features engage as they inform.

1.6 Differences between Newspaper and Magazine Features

(This list has been sourced from the list of references at the end of these notes)

a) Most newspapers are published on a daily or weekly basis. Magazines on the other hand can
be bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly and so on. The main agenda of a newspaper is to relay
information gathered by reporters in a concise and precise manner. Being a daily publication
for instance, it would be taxing to place a heavy demand on the readers so that they are
burdened with detailed stories they cannot possibly finish reading in one day. The main
difference thus, between features for newspapers and magazines has got to do with audience
needs. The magazine is designed for a special group of readers-we call magazines specialized
publications. For instance, Parents magazine deals only with issues related to parenting. The
targeted audience is parents, hence, the magazine’s articles must be relevant to them. On the
other hand, newspapers are targeted at anyone who can read and write in a specific geographic
location.

b) Another difference concerns the length of the articles. Newspaper features tend to be shorter
than magazine articles. This is not to say that magazine articles cannot be short, or that
newspapers cannot contain longer features. The fact is that a newspaper has many segments to
cover such as breaking news, news, sports, courts, parliament, classifieds, opinion columns,
commentaries and so on. This means that the newspaper has less space to post lengthier stories.

c) Newspaper features are more closely related to current events than magazine features.
Magazine features may find a common theme in a series of events over time while a newspaper
feature investigates one or two recent events. Features in magazines are closely related to the
niche topics of interest to their specialized audiences, while newspaper features more closely
relate to current events or topics of interest to a broad audience. Hence, magazines have a
longer shelf-life than newspapers.

d) Newspaper feature writing aims to please a geographically restricted audience with a broad
range of ages, interests and socio-economic backgrounds. Magazine writing is directed toward
a geographically diverse but narrow target audience which has specific interests and
demographic characteristics.

e) Newspaper feature writing is generally detached and objective. The personality of the writer
remains hidden. Magazine writers have more freedom to display viewpoint, voice, tone and
style in their writing. While newspapers aim for objectivity and neutrality in their reporting,
the reputation of many magazines is built upon a particular political or religious point of view.

f) Newspaper writing requires daily deadlines. Magazine deadlines depend on the type of
publication. Thus, readers expect more from their magazines in terms of complexity, analysis,
originality, depth, sources and accuracy. Magazine writing is more intellectually challenging
for the reader and writer.

Ward (1993) opines that newspaper and magazine articles are very much alike despite some
differences. According to the author, the difference lies in the fact that newspaper features are
traditionally printed in narrow columns whereas magazine articles have wider columns with
pictures and display elements and can stretch over a group of pages. Secondly, the difference
bewteen the two lies in points of view where the newspaper feature takes a more objective
point of view than a magazine article. Often, the story would be told through the third-person
point of view whereas magazine articles can be written in the first-person point of view.
Consider the following:

Third-person point of view: Mwangi’s riches-to-rags story is as riveting as it is

saddening. Mwangi was born into humoungous wealth, born of a highly successful
 merchant father; and a mother with a high flying career in the government. While
peering through the ramshackle cardboard room he calls home, and though still in
denial, Mwangi claims he cannot fathom what happened.

First-person point of view: I was born into enormous riches. My late father was one of
the top ten wealthiest merchants in Kenya. My mother was a government minister and
a favorite of the President of the Republic of Kenya. But now look at this room. Look
at the cake of soot that lines my roof. Does this seem like I once rode among the
high and mighty of this land?

According to Ward, the use of ‘I’ is indicative of a leisurely and intimate approach to feature
writing than the use of the third-person.

1.7 Conclusion

Sumner and Miller (2011) summarize how a feature is formed in these words:

“The process begins with an interesting and fresh idea so tightly focussed that the writer can
summarize it in a single sentence. The research phase follows and takes two forms: a thorough
exploration of existing materials, and thoughtful interviews conducted with knowledge and
quotable quotes.”

Remember that a feature story is a soft news story that carries human interest within it.

1.8 Assignment

1. Get a copy of your local newspaper (for one week, ie Monday to Sunday) and together with
a friend, identify as many feature stories as possible.

2. Get a copy of a magazine and compare the articles in the magazine with some of the feature
stories you identified above.

References

Friedlander, E. J. & Lee, J. (2011). Feature writing: The pursuit of excellence. (7th ed.). USA:
Pearson

Juppi, P. (2013). Style of feature writing. Retrieved from

[Link]

Okoye, I.(2006). Feature writing: Theory and practice. (2nd ed). Lagos: Malthouse Press
Limited.

Sumner, D. E. & Miller, H. G. (2011). Feature and magazine writing: Action, angle & anecdote.
UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Ward, H. (1993). Magazine and feature writing. USA: Mayfield Publishing Company.

Williamson, D. R. (1975). Feature writing for newspapers. USA: Hastings House Pub.