News features are stories that take the listener or viewer behind the scenes of a particular topic. The subject matter of a news feature may be a person, group of people, organisation or specific event. They are often more emotional than hard news and can include a greater range of elements such as opinions, interviews with key people involved and even dramatised segments.
They benefit from the inclusion of pictures and illustrations. In fact some newspapers devote a whole page to such stories. Often they are exclusive news and have the potential to become sensational or scandalous – such as the Watergate scandal that eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. It is good practice to write a separate news story for the inside page to accompany the feature and to cross-refer.
When writing a news feature, it is a good idea to consider the ‘story arc’ – the general way the piece will progress from start to finish (or, as it sometimes called, ‘narrative arc’). It is important that a news story or a news feature is interesting and keeps your listeners or viewers interested. A news story or a feature that is boring will cause your audience to switch off.
Another consideration is the tone and format of the program in which you will present your feature – the Treatment. Depending on your audience, you may need to be more serious in tone and more tightly constructed with your news feature if the program is a nightly hard-news current affairs.
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