The Feature Story Deconstructed

Part I

What’s the difference between a news story and a feature story?

If this is the news…“Obamacare website riddled with

problems”

This is a feature…

“HHS Secretary Katherine Sebelius blamed for Obamacare website failures”

If this is the news…

“Polls show Bill de Blasio 45

points ahead of Joe Lhota”

This is a feature…

How will de Blasio differ from Bloomberg?

Next-day, Follow-up, Second-Day, News Feature

Stories• A story that follows a news story.

• Doesn’t have to be exactly the next day.

• Often look at the “why”

• It can be a profile, news feature, trend article, op-ed, graphic, etc.

Key: we need to CARE about the news story to deserve a follow up:• Impact

• Conflict

• Novelty

• Prominence

• Timeliness

• Engagement

• Solutions

Why is one election more

news worthy?

A feature story or news follow up can go narrow or broad—or in

between:

“N.Y. attorney general launches probe against racial profiling at Barneys:

Broad vs Narrow follow ups:“Obamacare website riddled with

problems”

Some stories spark many, many follow ups:

“Michael Jackson

has died”

The Follow-up Story

• Michael’s kids:What’s in store for them?

• Who’s Your Daddy?• Michael Jackson’s

Top 10 Hits• How to do the

moonwalk• The day I met Michael

Hurricane Sandy Pummels East Coast

Chris Brown charged with assault

New Study Released: Hispanic College Enrollment Up

Nationwide

Boston leads St. Louis 3-2 in World Series

CCNY students protest closing of Morales/Shakur Center

Assignment:due Thursday 10/31/2013

Find two RECENT hard news stories from a newspaper or news website. (New York Times, Daily News, cnn.com, msnbc, NY1, yahoo.com news) Jot down the headline, summarize the who, what, when, where.

Think of three second-day or follow-up stories that relate to each of your news stories. (6 ideas total) Describe your ideas in two or three sentences; no more. Please type, double-space, include your name.

Your ideas must be based on hard news and facts; don’t make up stuff!

Each of you will discuss one story and your ideas in class then turn in assignment.

Linda VillarosaNews and Follow Up AssignmentIntroduction to JournalismOct. 31, 2013 News Story :Penn State to Pay $59 Million to Settle Sandusky Sex Abuse Claims, nbc.com, 10/29/2013

“Penn State announced Monday it will pay $59.7 million to settle claims by 26 young men who said they were sexually abused by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, capping a year of negotiations.”

Follow Up Stories

 1. A look at other high-profile sex abuse claims, like what happened in the Catholic church, and how this financial settlement compares.

2. An article exploring how the Penn State football program is doing in the wake of this very public scandal. 3. Interviews with the victims of Sandusky’s abuse to see how they are doing and how they feel about the settlement.