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Module 4: the Feature Story

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Module 4: the Feature Story Module 4: The Feature Story In this module you will complete your VOF journey by writing a full-scale Feature Story! A feature story offers in-depth reporting, analysis and insight about a particular issue in your community. Often, feature stories follow up on breaking news events—like elections or violence. Feature stories can also highlight ongoing issues in your community—like health concerns or a community project to address illiteracy. You will also learn how to use Twitter and Facebook for more than just social networking. You may find it helpful to review your citizen journalism assignment before reading the sections below. To do so, click here. Citizen journalism materials created by The Global Press Institute exclusively for World Pulse. Citizen Journalism Learning Materials Section 4-1: Finding your Angle Review Section 2-3. Narrative leads are the most common lead types in feature stories. You are, of course, free to choose any lead style that feels most appropriate to you. Remember to: Choose an issue that is important to you. Narrow down your topic by choosing a specific person or aspect of a larger issue. Do some preliminary research to ensure that your idea is feasible and safe to write about. Optional Journal Question: Post 3 story ideas to PulseWire to spark discussion among your fellow correspondents to help you determine which story idea to choose. Steps to creating a strong feature story. World Pulse I 909 NW 19th Avenue, Suite C I Portland OR 97209 USA I T +1 503 331 3900 I F +1 503 914 1418 I worldpulse.com Sample VOF Features: Political: A Call to Save Nigeria http://www.worldpulse.com/node/13073 A specific issue: Children/Healthcare In Search of a Mother's Voice http://www.worldpulse.com/node/14227 Maternal Mortality Should Women Die Giving Life? http://www.worldpulse.com/node/14302 World Pulse I 909 NW 19th Avenue, Suite C I Portland OR 97209 USA I T +1 503 331 3900 I F +1 503 914 1418 I worldpulse.com Section 4-2: Sources Cultivating sources is the most important part of being a successful journalist. Whenever you are out reporting, it is important to be professional. (Distribute business cards and press passes!) By introducing yourself, conducting thorough and professional interviews, and leaving a source your business card, you are telling that source that you are trustworthy and a good person to call in the future when other news stories or ideas come up. Where do we find sources? A source is anyone who, or anything that, provides you with information that you can use in your story. Sources can be government officials, farmers, restaurant owners, documents, court testimonies. Credibility Who a source is, is almost as important as what he or she has to say. A source with a criminal record, or someone with a reputation in the community as an alcoholic or swindler, may have a lot to offer your story, but remember that your sources' credibility is linked with your own. There is no rule that says you have to use quotations from every person you interview. Section 4-3: Where to Look for News There is no exact formula that dictates how a Correspondent should find the stories that she writes. We recommend using a combination of personal contacts, events, following the news, and honing into an issue area to develop stories. Using Personal Contacts A reporter should avoid interviewing or writing about close personal friends or associates. It is considered poor journalistic form because bias is inherent in dealing with friends. However, one of your best tools as a journalist are your relationships within the community. Sometimes while you are talking to a neighbor or with your partner and their work colleagues, you may pick up on a potential story idea. There is nothing wrong with that. The catch is that your partner and your neighbor SHOULD NOT be sources in your story. You will have to take the information you have learned and find other sources and documents that can tell you the complete story. Steps to developing a story from a personal contact: Find other sources who can talk about an issue, such as nurses, doctors, people who work in clinics. Look for supporting statistics—how common is this problem? World Pulse I 909 NW 19th Avenue, Suite C I Portland OR 97209 USA I T +1 503 331 3900 I F +1 503 914 1418 I worldpulse.com Find out the history of the problem, if relevant. What are current laws and political viewpoints? Finding at least three sources, as well as background information and statistics about an issue, is a great way to begin developing a story you first heard about from a personal contact. Following the News Now that you are a journalist, it is important that you stay up on the news. Once you determine what issues you are interested in, you should follow any political or international developments that could have an impact on life in your community and country. For example: If you are interested in writing about HIV/AIDS and you read a story from a newspaper in the U.S. that says International aid from the U.S. government for AIDS clinics in your country is going to decrease by $10 million/per year for the next five years, what should you do? Attending Events Attending political, cultural, and any other type of event is a great way to find stories. Sometimes the event itself can be the story; it can be a great lead-in to a related or more in-depth story, or may allow you the opportunity to meet new and interesting people in the community. For example, if a group of local teachers is having a protest or demonstration in the street, you should use the opportunity to meet and interview teachers, get an idea of the issues they are protesting, collect a lot of opinions. Take notes about the color and the details of the events—are they holding signs? If so, what do they say? What do they look like? How many protestors are there? Where are they? How long have they been there? Then, after the event, review your notes and interviews and decide if the underlying issue of the event—the teachers’ demands—is worthy of writing about. If you decide to pursue the story, only about half of your reporting work is done. You’ve collected the opinions and information of half of the debate; now you must seek out the other side—local government, the union they were protesting, or any other parties named in their grievances. Review and use Chapter One concepts: fairness, balance. Honing in on an Issue Area Issues that have impacted our lives, our family, and our communities often provide the most fertile ground for news stories. Sidebar Body: Frequently Asked Questions About Finding News World Pulse I 909 NW 19th Avenue, Suite C I Portland OR 97209 USA I T +1 503 331 3900 I F +1 503 914 1418 I worldpulse.com Q. What if my contact does something I consider terrible and wrong, but is relevant and important to my story? Should that change my reporting method in any way? A. Of course not! Acknowledge any personal feelings and biases right away and then move on from them. Imagine this scenario. You are chatting with a friend after work, and she tells you that her 17- year-old daughter is ill. She tells you that her symptoms are fever, cramping, bleeding and nausea. She takes you into her confidence and tells you that her daughter was raped, became pregnant, and obtained a clandestine abortion. There were complications from the abortion and now her daughter is ill, but too scared to see a doctor. You are passionate about reproductive rights, but against abortion. However, if your friend's daughter is sick and may be in serious danger after obtaining an illegal abortion, your job as a correspondent is to shed light on that situation and perhaps prevent it from happening again. Our goal is to bring about change through truth and solutions-oriented information. The point of being a journalist is not to impose your personal views on people, but rather to try to make a difference by disseminating unbiased, accurate information. Your job is to shed light on a situation and perhaps prevent it from happening again. More important, as a World Pulse correspondent, your role is to bring forward solutions to the problem you are covering. Q. Should I be careful to observe from the sidelines when covering an event? A. No! Don't attend an event and hang out in the back. Get in there, get up close, ask questions and try your best to understand what is going on! Section 4-4: Online Research Finding and Using Statistics A strong feature story not only tells a compelling story, it also provides factual context so that the reader understands the full scope of the issue. Using statistics in your writing is an important way to educate yourself and your audience about a topic. But beware! Too many statistics can be boring and too few can be confusing. Follow the simple guide below to gather good statistics and use them in your writing: World Pulse I 909 NW 19th Avenue, Suite C I Portland OR 97209 USA I T +1 503 331 3900 I F +1 503 914 1418 I worldpulse.com Check out how VOF grad Gifty Pearl used statistics to make a compelling point in her feature about maternal mortality in Ghana: ...Although a relatively advanced health system exists in Ghana, maternal mortality is still soaring.
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