Questions

What is a feature story? Why is it apart of journalism writing?

A feature story is a news story that is way more detailed. It takes a subject and gets as much information on the topic out of it as possible. It is apart of journalism writing in my opinion because it is needed to keep people interested sometimes. If people woke up and read the same news-type article every time they would just watch the news.

What is a personality profile? How is it written? Why would readers want one? What are some of your favorite personality profiles?

A personality profile is a feature story that goes in typically on a famous person that has had a recent achievement, like retirement or an award. It goes into detail about the recent achievement while also going into detail about there personal life if appropriate. A reader, like myself, would want one to learn more about their favorite athlete, musician, or actor. My personal favorites are about star soccer players in Europe.

How is a feature lead different from a typical news lead? Please provide a feature lead for a story you would love to write.

The feature lead does not have to be the immediate news. It is used to draw in the reader instead of informing them of what happened.

"The fans erupt. The stadium shakes. The Richter scale registers a magnitude 2 earthquake in North London, but it wasn't an earthquake on this warm afternoon in May, it was a HarryKane. Harry Kane celebrates as he led his Tottenham Hotspur teammates to the team's first-ever Premier League trophy."

Why do some heavily-researched stories lend themselves to a feature format?

Heavily-researched stories give the writer a lot of information for just one news story. I would also imagine that after researching for a while, the news becomes old news and is not relevant for a news story anymore. The writer is able to go into great detail.

What is a seasonal feature? Why are readers interested in these?

A seasonal feature is a story that is relevant to a certain time of the year or holiday. Readers are interested because of the relevancy to the time and in some cases to get into the mood of the holiday.

Provide a definition of libel and some examples of situations where it is easier or harder to prove in court.

According to Oxford, Libel is a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation. It is easier to prove libel if it is a private person. It is harder to prove if it is a public person.

Do you think it is good or bad that ethics codes for most organizations do not carry legal penalties? Why or why not?

I would much rather have legal penalties. It would benefit many people. However, it would be very hard to find a punishment as ethics codes are typically determined by personal judgment.

Why did you sign up for this class? Do you feel you are getting what you want from it? What have we not covered about feature writing you would like to discuss?

I signed up for this class because I want to be a sports journalist and would like to write a few feature stories. I am definitely getting what I want as I was able to write about the Champions League for my last feature. Almost everything I have wanted to go over has already been covered, but I know I still have a few things to learn.