In a lot of ways, feature writing is best when it's worked into the news on a daily basis. Reporters can ask questions: How can I relate this to readers? Who is affected by this story? Is there a personal example of the implications of this story I can use to relay the information?
When these approaches are used, information is transferred to readers in a more meaningful way. For example, a story about the number of home foreclosures last month in Detroit is interesting. A story about an individual family, with their personal struggles and situation, is memorable. Both tell the story about a problem in Detroit and nationwide. Which would you rather read?
3 comments:
I would definately rather read a feature article. In your example of just giving the facts of a home foreclosure, or writing about a family going through it...I not only believe that an article about the family would be a much better read, I also believe people are more inclined to help out in whatever way they can. When a person can relate to a story, or if a story is so well written that it leaves them thinking about it later in their day, they are more likely to help out in whatever way they can. People are run by emotions, and an good feature article that can touch base with a person's emotions definately deserves to be put in the paper over a short, boring article stating only facts, numbers, and statistics.
Feature stories appeal to the reader's imagination and catch their attention. It's meaningful all the way around to humanize issues via features.
Jackie O'Neal
Editor and Publisher
http://onealmedianews.com
A feature article would be better mainly because there is so many people who suffer from foreclosure in Detroit, and putting a person in the story that gives the chance for the reader to think "well maybe this could happen to me." And it causes some people to remember the story a lot more than just remembering the facts and figures, which can get distorted.
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