P PASSI CITY COLLEGE

City of Passi, Iloilo

SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

(ENG 119) Campus Journalism

Module 6:
Writing Features, Interview &
Sports Story

Module Overview: This module is designed for Education students to expose to the concept
journalism, as well as its definition and attribute are discussed to inform the learners of its
importance.

Module Outcomes:
At the end of the module the students should have;
 knowledged of the similarities and differences between a news story and a feature article;
and between a news feature and a feature article
 knowledged of the broad topics of feature articles
 familiarized with the different approaches to an interview
 knowledged of the do's and the don'ts to observe during the interview proper and in
writing the interview
 ability to write interesting speech and feature interviews

Module Content:

 Writing Features
 Writing Interview
 Writing Sports Story

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 Discussions
Features Defined
Feature is an essay based on facts. Its main purpose is to entertain or present human
interest stories. Like an editorial, it is hung on a newspeg.

It is hard to define a feature article because it can take many forms and can cover many
subjects. However, a reader may easily distinguish feature stories from news stories through its
different characteristics.

Main Objective of Features

The main objective of news is to inform, while a feature article aims to entertain. Feature
articles may also instruct, advise, inform, and entertain at the same time.

Features and News Compared

Unlike a straight news story, a feature article may be of any length ranging from a rather
long magazine article publishes, for example in the Panorama or Reader's Digest, to the short
human interest story published in the feature page of a campus publication. They may or may
not be timely.

Side by side with an earthquake news story may be a feature article on past earthquakes
that had hit the country. This is called a sidebar.

Also, a feature article may be written in any form and style. It rarely has a summary lead.
Instead, it usually begins with a novelty lead.

News Feature

It is important to stress here that news feature, sometimes referred to as featurized news,
is not a feature article but a news story which is based on facts but containing explanations,
background, and impression of the writer. Its main aim is to inform. It can start in almost any
manner and it usually appears with the author's byline.

A feature article, on the other hand, aims to entertain rather than to inform, although it
may do both at the same time.

Here is an example on how a feature article differs from a straight (factual and objective)
news story or from a news feature.

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 Suppose a school celebrates its Foundation Day. A straight or featurized news story
about this will say how the occasion was celebrated, who the guest speaker was and what his
message was about, the highlight of the activities, and the different contests held.

A brief history about the school may be published as a sidebar to the banner news. This is
a feature article. Another feature article may be about the namesake of the school, usually a
national hero, which may be published in the features section.

It is interesting to note, however, that not all feature articles are related to the news
event which inspired the article. Even if it were not Foundation Day, the feature editors may
write about national heroes whose birthdays or martyrdoms fall on the month of publication.

But whether tied up or not to a newspeg, the feature article is interesting, thus
entertaining because it reveals something new about people, things, and events. Or it revives a
memory.

Topics for Feature Stories

What should be written as feature stories? Using a cliché, a feature article, like an essay,
may be on any topic under the sun from A to Z.

For campus writing the following broad topics are suggested to feature editors, for their features
sections:

1. Personalities - This feature article, sometimes called a character sketch, is usually

short. It may be about a student leader, a successful alumnus, a teacher, a school staff
member, or even about an industrious janitor. The student to be featured should not
always be the campus doll, or the dashing Romeo of the class, but the achiever, the
builder, or the innovator.
A community member who has raised the biggest squash or the fattest hog in his
backyard deserves to be played up. In writing a character sketch, the emphasis should be
on the person, what he says and thinks, and what he does for development. His date of
birth and the bundle of certificates he has accumulated for attending seminars should
take the back seat.
2. Experience and adventure - Suppose a group of science students had attended a national
science camp. Each one of them has an interesting story to relate - the workshop
seminar, the feasibility studies, the field trips, the socials, and the putting out of the
newsette. These may be summarized as one big adventure story or may be written as
separate featurettes. To make each story interesting, the student should be made to write
his story himself in the first person point of view. In such a case, the story should appear
with his byline. If he can't do this, a reporter writes the story for him. The byline would
then be written this way:
By Warner Castro
(as told by Clarence Manuel)
3. Description - There are many significant events and special festivities in the school and
in the community worth writing about. Also, there are interesting projects made by the
students in the laboratory and their vocational and academic classes and by the

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 community members in their respective homes that need playing up. But in his
description, the writer should as much as possible be factual and original. Aside from
this, he should use simple and concrete words that are easily understood by the layman
or by Mr. Average Reader.
4. Narratives - There are interesting stories to relate, especially historical ones. Not all
personal stories are on adventures and experiences. An old person in the community
may be asked to narrate how the district got its name or how in the olden days people
fished or washed clothes in a polluted estero nearby.
5. Backgrounders - There are feature articles that explain the history or the background of a
certain events. Say for example, that the model platoon of a certain school wins first
place in a district competition. A feature story about the organization of the pioneer
platoon is a backgrounder.
6. Developmental Feature Articles - In a developing country like the Philippines, student
editors should keep in step with developments that affect mankind and should steer
away from routine reporting. They should not limit their stories to student politics,
junior proms, and other school affairs. They should help advance national, social,
economic, and educational programs such as those in social action, food production,
fight against dope addiction, criminality and all kinds of vices, and the implementation
of the Green Revolution, CLEAN and beautification drives, and other kinds of
community service.
There are other subjects of feature stories that interest readers. Some of these are the
latest fads and fashions, book, movie and play reviews, and the "How to" articles. The
last one explains a process or a method like "How to Raise Mushrooms." It tells, for
example, how to conserve energy, how to fight pollution, or how to raise poultry in the
backyard.
7. What to Do and How to Do Articles - There are also "What to" articles. There are those
that tell what to do during an earthquake, a typhoon, an emergency, or the like. Some of
these articles can develop the subject either by a series of rules starting with "Do" or by
having the writer describe the process in his own words. Usually, these kinds of feature
articles are accompanied by pictures or illustrations.

How to Introduce the Feature Article

Unlike a straight news story, a feature article may begin in any form and in any style.
This depends on the topic or purpose of the writer. Most features, however, may be introduced
by any of the following:

1. Rhetorical Question

Who says that age is an obstacle to education?

Take it from Danilo Marcelo of Arayat, Pampanga who stopped going to school seven
years ago after finishing the elementary grades. This year, at 24, he enrolled as a first year
evening student at Abada High School

2. Startling Statement

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 "Hindi pa kami laos!"

Thus exclaimed the young once teachers, administrators, parents, community and
barangay members as they set aside one special day during the school's celebration of
Community Week to have a share of the festivities, and of course to display their hidden talents.

Title: Hindi Pa Kami Laos

3. Narrative Opening
Mrs. Adelfa Prado, a fourth year evening student, sends herself and her six children to
school, acting as mother and father at the same time.
Every day, Mrs. Prado divides her time as half time tindera tending her sarisari store
during the day and as half-time student studying at night.
Title: Half Here, Half There

4. Quoted Remarks

"I earn while I learn." He smiled at me as the interview reeledoff."Howcan you work,
have a part-time job, and at the same time go to school?" I asked.

"Well, it is easy," he explained. "I don't do all of these at the same time."

Title: I Earn While I Learn

5. An Old Maxim, an Aphorism, or a Salawikain

"Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink."

This quotation from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge does not hold
true anymore. Today, even flood water can quench the thirst. How?

Title: Drinking Flood Water, Anyone?

6. History or Background of the Subject

Muslims throughout the world, including our Filipino Muslim brothers, observe the holy
month of Ramadan starting Sept. 17. Ramadan is the ninth lunar month of the Muslim calendar.
It is observed by Muslims just as the Lenten Season is commemorated by Christians.

Title: Knowing Our Muslim Brothers

7. Problems to be Discussed and the Article or Fact to be established

There is an answer to the rising cost of vegetables: raise your own.

Title: Backyard Gardening

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 There is no end to interesting, effective openers of feature stories. There are still many
other ways. Study the feature pages of your exchanges and you will be surprised to find this out.

Ending the Feature Article

Again, as important as the lead, is the ending. The last word or words impress the reader
as strongly as the opening sentences.

It may be any of the following:

1. A summary of the whole article

Take it from experts: Smoking is definitely harmful to health. Smoking may make you
feel manly, but you may not live long enough to be one.

Title: Don't Smoke Your Life Away

2. An announcement of the main point for the first time

Therefore, a major part of the development communication effort should be directed at

strengthening the character of the people, and developing in them moral values, particularly
self-discipline, self-reliance, strength of character, and fortitude.

Title: Development Communication

3. A question left in the reader's mind

The hands of the new Filipino toil for the love of creation. They turn the wheels of
progress and hold high the torch of freedom - freedom from want and hunger.

Do you have these kinds of hands?

Title: The New Filipino

4. Suggested results or significance

Let us conserve our forests now if we want to save the future of our country and of our
children.

Title: The Rape of the Forest

5. A forecast or prophecy

In six and a half centuries from now, if population explosion would not be checked, there
would be one person standing on every square foot of land on earth. By that time, people would
be devouring one another, for there would be no more space for plants to grow.

Title: A Tale of Horror - Population Explosion

6. A repetition of the introduction

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 Asked if he had any formal training in photography, Domingo Layson finally answered,
'Ah, it is now the reverse. It is here where I learn as I earn, not I earn as I learn." (The lead of
feature article is, "I learn while I earn.")

Title: I Learn as I Earn

7. A repetition of a sentence or slogan, or a reference to the title

After four years of working as a houseboy, working during the day and going to school at
night, Jose Fallar will soon graduate as a first honor student.

Now, who says that poverty is a hindrance to education?

Title: Poverty Not a Hindrance

8. An appropriate quotation

Nestor claims that he is poor. But when asked why he his last centavo to the old man, he
answered:

"Not what we give, but what we share

For the gift, without the giver is bare,
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.?

Title: Love thy Neighbor

Because feature stories are less stereotyped in form and in style than news stories, the
feature writer should possess the following qualities: (1) a keen observation; (2) an intellectual
curiosity; (3) ability to find features in everyday happenings; (4) cupboards of descriptive words
and everyday idioms; (5) the skill to weave words into interesting sentences and paragraphs;
and (6) the ability to write effectively.

Qualities of a Good Feature Writer

1. He knows how to look for features from beneath the surface of everyday event.
2. He investigates every angle before starting to write in order to get the story behind the
story.
3. He is a keen observer.
4. He has various interests.
5. He has the ability to write features interestingly.

Characteristics of a Good Feature Article

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 1. A good feature article should have the following characteristics:

2. It may inform, instruct, or advise, but its primary purpose is to entertain. It is usually
read after the news in a leisure moment.

3. It may be of any length - from a short human interest story toa rather long magazine
article.

4. It may or may not be timely. It is timeless.

5. It may be written in any form or any style.

6. It usually uses the novelty lead rather than the summary lead.

7. The reporter may use any of the following devices - suspense, dialog, description,
narration, exposition, argumentation, climax, and the like in presenting his story.

8. Although the writer applies his imagination to the facts, the feature story is not fiction. It
is based on facts.

9. It uses specific nouns, adjectives, and verbs to create vivid images, sound and feeling for
the readers.

10. It applies the principle of effective writing to achieve unity, coherence, and emphasis
which are essential to all good writing. 10. It is written with friendly simplicity.

Remember: A news feature and a feature article are two different things.

Examples of Feature Articles

Backgrounder

Bayanihan: A Filipino Cultural Heritage

The effectiveness of the bayanihan spirit was best shown by groups of students, thousands of
them as they took to the streets in support of the Metro Manila clean-up and beautification
drive.
Bayanihan
Bayanihan is an ancient Filipino custom, symbolic of the Filipino way of group work.
As found in the Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala (1754) by P. Juan de Noceda and P. Pedro de
Sanlucar, the word bayanihan is derived from the rootword bayani, meaning obra comun or
group work.

Another related word magpabayani, is a request for help by one who wants a job done for him
and evoked response from neighbors who come in groups to offer their services in all forms and

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in their own simple ways. In return, the nagpabayani gives them free breakfast, lunch, or
merienda as a token of appreciation and gratitude.

Description

Welcome to Picturesque Philippines

Above the heaving bosom of the warm Pacific is an archipelago of 7,093 islands washed by the
tropic seas ... extending for more than a thousand miles from north to south.

It is here where life flows sweetly. It is here where winter is unknown ... where primitive life still
lingers ... where culture is rich ... and where flowers bloom all year round.

She is a great jade necklace, no scenes more beautiful than she. Her vast variety of attractive
scenery, of plains and mountains, palm trees at her seashores, seas full of numerous fishes and
of unique pearls, verdant rice fields, forests, swamps, rivers, and falls.

Yes, this is picturesque Philippines.

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Writing the Interview
TWO-THIRDS OF ALL NEWS STORIES in print are produced through interviews.

The reporter is not always present in the scene of an event - a fire, a plane crash, a scientific
experiment going on or in a policy - making assembly so that he has to get most of his facts by
asking questions from eyewitnesses or from participants.

Interview Defined
An interview is an art of asking questions to obtain information. But technically
speaking, it is asking questions to obtain opinions, ideas, or special information on topics of
interest to the general public from a prominent person or from a recognized authority.

Kinds of Interviews

There are different kinds of interviews. These are the informative, opinion, feature,
group, and symposium interviews.

An informative interview is conducted to obtain some information from a person

responsible for a new idea. He may have made news or participated in a news event like
witnessing an airplane crash or discovering a new cure for cholera.

An opinion interview is conducted to obtain opinion. What does the source think, for
example, of the proposed autonomous form of government, or of the Parliamentary formof
government?

A feature interview is the group interview of which there are two types: the "inquiring
reporter type" and the symposium type. In the "inquiring reporter type," the reporter asks the
same question from interviewees he selects at random. In the symposium type, the reporter asks
one question or related questions from specialists in a given field.

The Easy Method

Interviewing is not just a matter of hoping for the best. The reporter should have some
advance preparations. It would be unethical and unprofessional for him to rush into an office
brandishing a notebook in the air without first making an appointment in advance. He should
arrange the time and the place convenient to the interviewee.

Before meeting with his subject, the reporter should understand exactly the assignment
given to him by his editor. He should select definite and limited subjects or topics of interest to
the readers.

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 To make the conversation lively, the reporter should know beforehand about his subject,
his position, accomplishments, or personality. As much as possible, he should ask thought-
provoking questions.

During the interview proper, the reporter should be alert to new unexpected angles of the
topic that usually pop up. If this happens, he should be ready to forego prepared questions if he
can obtain a better story on another topic that presents itself unexpectedly.

General questions such as "What do you think of family planning" should be avoided.
Questions should be definite and specific. Also, for better results, the interview should be kept
on a conversational basis.

The story should be written right away after the interview. But before this, the reporter
should first determine what kind of interview he has to write: Informative? Opinion? Feature?
Or a combination of these?

Do's and Don'ts in Conducting an Interview

A. Do's

1. Know your subject thoroughly and jot down exactly what questions you want clarified.
2. Know your interviewee - his habits, strengths, opinion on the topic, achievements, even
weaknesses.
3. Make an appointment and be there ahead of time. Be prepared to listen, and take brief
notes when advisable.
4. Introduce yourself again even if you have an appointment. Always be courteous in
requesting clarifications, and be friendly and grateful for concessions like the repetition
of an explanation you are getting down verbatim, and for being allowed to tape his
explanation.
5. Offer to show him your write-up before its publication.
6. Respect "off the record" comments.

B. Don'ts

1. Never demand. Request and say "Thank you."

2. Don't react unfavorably to whatever he is saying. Even when asked, be neutral if you
cannot honestly agree with him. Remember, you will write down his answers, not your
ideas.
3. Don't hesitate to request repetition or clarification of anything not fully understood.
4. Don't take down everything; abbreviate long words and use only key words for main
ideas.
5. Don't overstay.

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 6. Don't postpone writing your notes. Do so as soon as you get out of the interview room.

Guidelines to Observe During the Interview

1. Be interested in what your subject has to say. Show it. Give him importance. Do not
interrupt while he is talking.
2. Do not talk too much yourself. Your views are not relevant except to pump out
information and to stimulate a lively conversation. However, be sharp. Your subject may
only be using you as a vehicle for propaganda. In this case question him.
3. Positive questions are preferred to negative or rambling questions.
4. Take notes unobtrusively. Some interviewees get frightened or bored with reporters who
take down everything they say.
5. Get your subject's name correctly spelled, his middle initial, his address, age (but do not
insist if refused), occupations, among others - anything that is relevant to your story. It
would be very embarrassing to return for these after you have left his office.
6. Show your quotes or even the whole report in proofs on a technical subject - but do not
promise to.

Guidelines to Observe in Writing the Interview

1. Correct all grammatical errors and awkward sentences made by the interviewee unless
they are necessary to reveal his personality. In doing this, don't change the interviewee's
meaning.
2. Make the quotes clear and compact.
3. Avoid any reference to yourself unless needed.
4. To avoid monotony, don't use "he said" many times. Use synonyms of "said" like
remarked, stated, concluded, or stressed.
5. Use noun substitutes like "the speaker," "the principal," and the like, to avoid
overworking the interviewee's name.

Writing It Up

After selecting and evaluating his notes carefully, the reporter decides the kind of
interview story he wants to write. Then, he writes an appropriate lead, which is usually a
summary lead - the summary of the whole story; or a quotation lead - the most striking
statement made by the interviewee.

The body follows. Informative and opinion interviews are arranged into alternating
paragraphs of direct quotations and summary statements.

For news interviews, the main point should be picked. What was the core of the talk?
What was the most important thing that the man said? Here, the reporter can give bare factual
bones a bit of flesh and blood. If the man was angry and red in the face, the reporter is entitled
to say so provided he takes care to keep his own prejudice in check.

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 Feature interviews have no set patterns since they depend upon the individuality of the
interviewee and the originality of the interviewer. But for this kind of writing, color is needed.
The man's mannerism, his dress, his attitudes, and even his surroundings may be described.

References:
English and Hach, Scholastic Journalism
Macdougal, Interpretative Reporting Nott et
al, New Survey of Journalism
Reddick, Journalism and The School Paper

************************************END OF DISCUSSION*******************************************

Activities:
Activity 1: I. True or False. Write “TRUE” if the sentence is true and “FALSE” if it is false.

1. Most news stories are written through interviews.

2. It is possible that the reporter may interview his source even without meeting him
personally.
3. No advance preparation is required before meeting with the interviewee.
4. For better results, the interviewer should do all the talking so that he could lead his
source towards what he (the interviewee) wants to know.
5. A quotation lead is good for an interview story.
6. Feature interview has set patterns.
7. Positive questions are preferred to negative or rambling questions.
8. The reporter should take down everything that the interviewee says.
9. The reporter may correct all grammatical errors made by the interviewee and change the
latter's meaning as he pleases.
10. The body of informative and opinion interviews should be arranged into alternating
paragraphs of direct quotations and summary statements.
11. The chronological order would be better than the inverted pyramid order for a human
interest story.
12. Inanimate objects may be the subjects matter for human interest stories.
13. The appeal of feature stories is to particular readers rather than just to anyone.
14. The perennial topnotcher who tops the honor roll again would command a better feature
than a junior student who defended the honor of his widowed mother from a
neighborhood toughie.
15. Dialogue should form part of a human interest story.
16. If the story appeals to the emotion, the feature tends to sentimentalize.
17. The appeal of the feature story leans on its dramatic quality.
18. Emphasis on language in feature writing is not so important as in news writing.
19. As in fiction, the feature writer may use devices such as narration, suspense, climax, or
description.
20. Features do not follow any specific form or style.

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Activity II. Completion. Fill the blanks with the correct answers:
1. In preparing for the interview, draw up a list of ___________ questions.
2. Ask specific, definite questions rather than ________ones.
3. Keep the interview on a ____________ basis for better results.
4. _______ interviews play up important facts.
5. ________ interviews play up the interviewee's personality or his interests and
activities.
6. ___________ interviews play up significant comments.
7. Rewrite awkward sentences unless they are necessary to reveal the ______________
of the person interviewed.
8. Avoid any ___________to yourself unless there is a good reason to write the story with
much personal reference.
9. Use different synonyms for "said" to avoid monotony, to suggest the attitude of the
interviewee, and to serve as transitional devices. Two examples are ________ and
_________.

Assessment
Assessment 1:
1. Write a feature story on your hobby or someone else's hobby. Include interesting
descriptive matter, and suggest a photograph that would go with the story. Let your
purpose be informative and your manner appreciative. (15 points )

Rubrics:
Content-5
Organization-5
Writing Convention-5

References:
Khan, R.( 2017), Campus Journalism, Anvil Publishing, Inc., Mandaluyong City, Philippines
Cruz, C. J. (2010), Campus Journalism and School Paper Advising, Rex Book Store, Inc.,
Sampaloc, Manila
Malinao, A. (2005), Campus and Community Journalism Handbook, National Book Store,
Mandaluyong City

*****************************End of Module 6*******************************************

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