A news feature is a journalistic article that presents an interesting take on the latest events in an engaging way. It is different from hard news stories in that it often uses interviews, surveys, storytelling and sensory details to give readers a comprehensive look at a niche topic.
Typically, a news feature is a “people” story that centers around the subject’s background and character. For example, if you are writing about a local meth epidemic, you might interview police, drug counselors, and the addicts themselves. You could also incorporate large-scale stats that show the magnitude of the problem, such as arrest and treatment numbers from across the state or country.
News features may also be cultural or historical in nature. For instance, you might use a news feature to explain the origins of hoop skirts or to highlight the discovery of Haley’s Comet. Alternatively, you might connect these ideas to current events by showing how the latest below-the-knee fashion trend or the upcoming meteor showers are tied to a past craze or scientific achievement.
Like other articles, a news feature requires careful editing. Ideally, you should run the article through free tools like Grammarly or Hemingwayapp to check for grammatical and punctuation errors and assess sentence structure and flow. You should also read the article out loud to spot awkward phrasing and transitions. In addition, you should refer to your research notes and fact sheet as you edit so that all the information is woven together seamlessly.