Features are a magazines' biggest strength. What makes a good feature and a good feature writer?

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MAGAZINE JOURNALISM

Features are a magazines’ biggest strength. What makes a good feature and a good feature writer?

TERM PAPER

Beenish Rai

M.C.III

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

ITRODUCTION TO THE CO-RELATION OF MAGAZINES AND FEATURES

The significance of journalism today is self explanatory and self evident. If newspapers are the backbone of print media, magazines are its strength. Magazines have added colour to the otherwise dull life of print media. In order to study rather explore the significance of magazine journalism it is appropriate to study the psychology of the people criteria of the times and demands of the society as well as the changing tastes of the members of society, buying the capability the likes and dislikes of the elite society.

Magazine journalism is rather a reflection of society itself. It is a non academic According to E. Frank Candlin, “A magazine is a non academic discipline which enriches the knowledge of an ordinarily educated person guiding him intellectually, spiritually besides improving his behaviour and attitude towards the social cultural political and economic affairs.”  Due to its thought provoking articles, writings, gleanings from the existing literature and formulation of thoughts driving trends besides leading to formation of public opinion a magazine should seem as if it is talking about the people who would read it.

This is only possible through fine feature articles since features are the articles that speak the language of the people.

DEFINING FEATURE

It is really hard to define the term ‘feature’ in its journalistic context. One finds it difficult to differentiate a feature article from an editorial, a column, a news story, a work of fiction, or creative writing. Quite interestingly people talk about weather, but cant do any thing about it, journalists on the other hand  do feature writing, but seldom talk about it___ or at least they seldom define what a feature is and how it should be written.

A feature is an article giving background information on certain events or personalities in the news. Now days, feature writing has become a highly specialized subject. A feature is a non-news article in a newspaper on some prominent subject.  A feature may be written by a prominent journalist or by a general author or by some specialist. Every news paper or magazine has some special correspondents for subjects like economics, military; political science etc. there may be several other spheres of life in which a person, having enough expertise and knowledge in all aspects, can be invited to handle a feature. 

As to sum up the definition of a feature it may be summed up into simple terms, “news story which projects the basic and the bare facts in dramatic form of detailed exposition”

If we carry out a comparative study, it can be said that where as news story presents merely the bare facts, the feature essentially includes the basic principle of dramatic explication, with detailed information.

SUBJECTS OF FEATURES

 A feature could be on any thing under the sun. a feature can be derived out of sheer dust. Features could be stories with depth and breadth, stories longer and more detailed. If hard news stories had historically emphasized “who”, “what”, “when” and “where” features could simply emphasize on “how” and “why”. Features could offer fresh and unusual perspectives on events and analytic considerations of the past, evocative glimpses into the future, asserting presentations of options and choices and empathetic examinations of personal dimension to public affairs.

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ATTRIBUTES OF A FEATURE ARTCLE

Generally feature stories are entertaining because these articles are less of essential reading. The basic actual information has already been published in other news articles, reported and published the same day on which the event occurred. Features give a supplementary way of knowing about the event and suggest a second point of view on situations. Factual information useful for daily efficiency is in new stories; feature articles seldom have information with the same degree of immediate physical and direct impact. Features don’t tell off a traffic slowdown on the highway that would delay a ...

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