Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FEATURE
WRITING
MA. APRIL M. MIER
Professor, Print and Broadcast Media Department, Bicol U
Correspondent, Philippine Daily Inquirer
✔ a write up that is
based on that
mysterious
ingredient in
journalism called
'human interest' --
it appeals to us
Feature because we can
Story relate to it.
■The jewel or gem
(precious stone) of the
newspaper - something
treasured for “time and
eternity”
✔ news values is substituted
with human interest, mood,
atmosphere, emotion, irony
or humor.
✔ Ask “why” and “how”
✔ In-depth look on what’s going on
behind the news
✔ straight news appeals to the
physical, the feature story
“appeals in the soul.”
■Literary article
■Opinion article
■Storytelling
■Fiction Story
QUALITIES OF A
FEATURE WRITER
✔ inquisitive
✔ eager to learn
✔ sympathetic towards other people's
feelings
✔ capable of seeing beneath the surface of
ordinary events
TYPES OF FEATURE
STORIES
1. NEWS FEATURE - This is some
kind of a news event but the story goes
deeper than a news item as more
background information and related
details are presented and expounded on.
2. INFORMATIVE - This is an
article that is highly informative but
entertaining. Based on interview or
taken from research
3. SERVICE FEATURE or A
“HOW-TO” FEATURE- This deals
with instructive articles that help
readers cope with everyday living.
4. PERSONALITY SKETCH-
This article features a person,
popular or not, rich or poor, but has
done something worth publishing or
is currently engaged in an interesting
or profitable endeavor.
5. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE - This emanates not only
from earthshaking experiences like riding an airplane that was
hijacked; being caught inside a movie house on fire, or being
one of the survivors of a volcano eruption or earthquake but
also even from ordinary experiences that happen everyday.
Experienced feature writers say even the most common
experience can be made into an interesting feature if it is
handled well. Unusual experience, written in the first person
Travel stories. This maybe a combination or personal
experience and descriptive features.
6. HUMOROUS FEATURE-
story with wit and humor
7. DEVELOPMENTAL
FEATURE. This features some
current or newly launched projects or
programs of the government that
need to be disseminated and that
would draw public support.
8. HUMAN INTEREST STORY -
appeals to emotion, has a little news
value or none at all but has a human
interest appeal with interesting style
ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS
1. Tease me.
2. Tell me what you are up to.
3. Prove it.
4. Help me remember it.
It begins with an
eye-catching
“showcase” lead.
INTRODUCTION
Get the reader's attention quickly
• Start with a well thought-out first paragraph
touching on some aspect of the person's life
that you are writing about or the event if it
is not a person.