This document discusses various types of feature stories and strategies for writing them. It covers the differences between hard news and feature stories, noting that feature stories focus on human interest topics and exploration rather than time-sensitive news. The document provides tips for identifying the main point of a story, finding unique angles, conducting personality profiles through interviews and observation, utilizing local sources, and localizing broader stories. The key takeaways emphasize finding stories everywhere, not being afraid to tackle difficult topics, and diligent reporting.

1. Feature
Writing

2. Hard News vs. Feature Stories
HARD NEWS
Fast-paced news that usually appears
on the front page of newspapers.
Stories that fall under the umbrella of
hard news often deal with topics like
business, politics and international
news.
FEATURE STORIES
Deals with “soft news,” exploring the
people, places, events, etc.
Focus on human interest topics.
Compelling even though most do not
directly affect the lives of audience
members.
Can be “evergreen” and may not have
to be as timely as hard news stories.

3. Feature Stories

4. Structure
Features play a valuable role in the daily news lineup because they humanize the
news, providing entertainment and a temporary escape from routine.
They also enable you as a writer to move your storytelling skills in a new direction.
Here, you can write alternate styles of leads, build your narrative around new story
structures, and write in a more leisurely and descriptive style that would not be
possible using only hard news writing approaches.
You may also draw upon techniques used by fiction writers including plot, dialogue,
characterization, description, anecdotes, and sensory details.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

5. Identify the Main Assertion
At the core of every good story is a key point, occasionally referred to as a main
assertion. One of the better ways of identifying this point is by completing the
sentence “This matters because….” You might touch on the following questions:
● What makes this story interesting and worth telling?
● Is the story about an individual or a broader concept associated with this person?
● Is this a “small picture” story, where you focus on one instance of something or a “big
picture” piece where you see a larger trend?
Other questions will pop up along the way as well, but in each news feature, you
need to identify what makes this story important.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

6. Find Competing Stories
See if there are other stories out there on your topic, and determine how this one is
going to be different.
The more you know about the stories others have written on your topic, the more
you can do to make yours special.
When you find other stories like the one you want to write, you can see if you can
tailor your piece to your audience better.
You can also look for angles that went uncovered, updates that the previous story
missed and other bits of information that could give you a reason to write your
piece.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

7. Profile Writing
The personality profile helps you explore the life of an interesting person and
explain to your readers how this individual arrived at this point in life.
A good profile gives you a chance to tell someone’s story and that’s a powerful thing.
Reporting will be a key aspect of a good personality profile.
● Profile reporting is harder than normal reporting and will force you to dig
deeper into the person’s life while picking out small details that will help you tell
the story.
● Profile reporting will take on two specific characteristics: interviewing and
observation.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

8. Interviews
You need to do observation, but you also want to spend a good amount of time with
that person so that you can ask a lot of questions that come from seeing the person
interact with others.
Look for ways to generate follow-up questions. Most of the time, you want to focus
on the “why?” aspect each time someone reveals a little about themself.
As you interview the person, remember that you want to reveal insight about your
source, so you should let the source have a little more control over the interview.
While you should still get answers to all the key questions you have, you should also
listen to what the source is saying and let the person’s thoughts guide you.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

9. Sources
The key aspect of the first interview will be to get the bread-and-butter reporting.
● View this interview as a wider examination of the person.
● Broad, open-ended questions based on good research should give you a solid
base from which to work.
When the source is talking about other people, you should take special note of the
names of the people, because these folks will make for great secondary sources.
● You want to have as many sources as possible, but make sure each one of these
sources can add something different to the mix.
Once you interview the secondary sources, you can go back to your source and
conduct another interview with more specific questions.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

10. Observation
Here are some things you should look for in terms of observation:
Person - You want to describe the person in terms of who they are and why they
matter. This is where you capture the physical and psychological essence of the
person.
Environment - What people surround themselves with often reveals a lot about who
they are.
Actions - As you examine the interactions your source has with other people, you
can learn a great deal about this individual’s sense of self. As you report on your
subject, you want to take good notes of these and other types of behaviors.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

11. Localizations
Localizing stories allow you to make a broader topic more locally relevant.
A Direct Local Tie - When you have someone local who is participating in a broader
event, the localization is simple. If the Miss America competition is happening and
the person representing your state comes from your coverage area, you have a great
opportunity to localize the pageant.
An Indirect Local Tie - In some cases, you can find yourself a somewhat solid local tie
that can make for a valuable story. When a person who grew up in your coverage
area becomes a big celebrity, you can find people who “knew her back in the day” for
a good localization story.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

12. Key Takeaways
Look for story ideas everywhere: Reporters who rely solely on event coverage will
often run out of good stories to tell or will become bored with their work. If you look
at your work as a daily opportunity to find something fun, you will make life better
for everyone.
Don’t be afraid of a topic: You shouldn’t be afraid of asking tough questions or
approaching awkward situations during your reporting. Sometimes, those
encounters can lead to the best stories.
Reporting requires diligence: When you conduct your reporting, stick with it until
you feel you have satisfied your readers. Then get up the next day and do it all over
again.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak