The distinction between news story and feature is an important one to understand – whether you’re a journalist, a PR professional or a business owner. News stories keep the public informed about current events with brevity and accuracy, while features offer more depth and storytelling. Understanding the difference can help you create content that suits your audience and purpose effectively.
A news feature is an editorial piece that takes a deeper dive into a topic, with more storytelling and emotion than a standard news report. Unlike breaking news pieces that are based on timelines and events that occur in the moment, a feature is a narrative article that focuses on human elements, anecdotes, or other subjective information.
Feature articles are also often less formal than news reports, and they may be written in the first person (though this is not necessary for all). They’re often more aesthetically-driven, with the use of literary and rhetorical techniques such as second-person language or rhetorical questions. They also include more visuals and anecdotes to appeal to the reader’s emotions, but should still be backed up by verified facts.
When writing a news feature, it’s important to add in larger-scale statistics that demonstrate the relevance of your topic. For example, if you’re writing about the drug crisis in your city, it would be helpful to include statistics on similar issues in other cities or states. This will give readers a greater sense of how the problem is affecting people in different places and helps to bolster your credibility.