A news feature is a story that looks at the world from a different perspective, puts current events into context and shines a light on societal issues and suffering. It’s also a chance to showcase positive stories about people, places and things. Features can be evergreen, which means they will still be relevant a year or five years from now. However, a newspaper has to be careful not to fill its pages with nothing but features – they need to be balanced so that there is enough space for the news that people want.
The key to writing a great news feature is understanding your audience. This must come first in your planning, and remain at the forefront of your mind throughout the whole process.
For example, a profile feature about a famous person must be written in the first person and use personal anecdotes to engage readers. It should also make clear why that person is interesting.
When it comes to an in-depth article, think about how a series of pictures could help tell the story. Similarly, an audio piece would be particularly effective in a story about a place or event.
It’s important to remember that a good feature will take up much more space than a regular news story. As such, you need to be very careful about how many words you write. It can be tempting to ramble and go on and on, but the article will quickly lose the reader’s interest.
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