Feature Story Types
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Transcript Feature Story Types
Types of Feature Stories
One thing to remember is Feature stories,
while journalistic, are first and foremost stories
With a
▪ Beginning
▪ Introduction
▪ Middle
▪ Rising action, climax, falling action
▪ End
▪ Conclusion
There are two genres of feature stories
News Feature (Less common)
▪ Usually tied to a breaking story
▪ Has to be pushed out right away
Timeless Story (More Common)
▪ No sense of urgency, often written over longer time
▪ Can be held until the right time to publish
Categories and appeals
There are at least 15 widely recognized types of
features.
All can be either news or timeless features
Some categories are about “things” but people
are more interesting
Effective writers will transform the “Thing”
feature into a “People” feature
The commemorative story
News features pegged to anniversary of an earlier
news event
Usually at the 1st anniversary and then in intervals
▪ 5, 10, 15, etc
▪ What are some examples of news events a
commemorative feature can cover?
Explanatory Story
Shows the reader how something works
Think of the show “Modern Marvels”
▪ How electricity or gas reach your home
▪ How chocolate, gum or cotton candy are made
▪ How bees make honey
These types of features require much research
▪ You need to know almost as much as the experts you are
interviewing in order to fill in the story
The first person story
Story written by the author about themselves
Usually dramatic or personal
▪ Requiring the use of “I” throughout the story
How I discovered…
How I found out…
When I…
▪ What type of events might be appropriate for this
feature
The Historical Story
Usually pegged to a breaking news event
When the news breaks it requires research for
better understanding, leading to a feature
▪ Ex. Crews installing water line discover long buried
street car tracks
▪ Construction of a new building is delayed while a
pioneer cemetery is moved
The Hobbyist story
What are some of your hobbies?
Most people collect something
▪ Any collectors in here?
When selecting a story like this
▪ Make sure you are talking about the person
▪ With the biggest or most diverse collection
▪ With vast experience in the hobby
The How-To Story
Covers steps to do a task
▪ often a difficult, unfamiliar or uncommon task
If the how-to is something that people charge for
▪ You may have to talk to several people before getting
enough info for a feature
The Invention Story
A feature about people who have develop
▪ Unusual or helpful inventions
▪ How they came up with the ideas
Or the inventions themselves
▪ Discussing details of how they work
▪ How they were put together
The Medical Story
Stories about illness (often costly ones)
▪ Chronicle the families financial plight
▪ In hopes of a donation
▪ Unusual illness
▪ Trying to find treatment
▪ Medical breakthrough stories
▪ Finding a cure
▪ Determining the cause of an illness
The Number Story
You develop a feature story about the top
▪ 10 restaurants
▪ 5 deadliest intersections
▪ 5 causes of stress
The Odd-Occupation Story
Think “Dirty Jobs”
What are some odd jobs you can think of
High rise window washers
More on Pg 9
The Overview Story
▪ This is a feature that focuses on an issue/problem
▪ Includes statistics from official sources
▪ Gives reader an overview of the issue/problem
▪ Example- Feature story on domestic violence
▪ Start with a specific well known case
Interview police, social workers, etc
▪ Include stats showing frequency of domestic violence
Unknown to readers
The Participatory Story
Story where the writer immerses themselves in
the story
▪ Feature on a sanitation worker
▪ Writer works as a sanitation worker for a few days
▪ Well known story
▪ Nelly Bly writer for the New York World
Had herself committed to an insane asylum
To write about the conditions there
The Profile Story
Story done on someone of interest
▪ Arrange interview
▪ Do some research on the person
▪ Interview subject and others who know them
▪ If people are uncooperative
You will rely on others only and research
▪ Should paint a word portrait of the person
▪ Reader should get a sense of how the person
Looks, sounds and thinks
The Unfamiliar Visitor Story
Story where the perspective of the topic I given by
a visitor
For example
▪ Your town has a high unemployment rate
▪ A visiting diplomat from China is in town
▪ You write about their perspective
▪ Show how is unemployment handled in China