Feature Writing and Reporting. Jennifer Brannock Cox
all types. In these chapters, you will learn traditional methods for finding story ideas, writing compelling features, interviewing and practicing journalism ethics. But you will view them as well through the refractive lens of the Digital Age. You will explore the state of the news industry to better understand the incredible impact digital technologies have had on how audiences get their news and the ways in which journalists report it. Along the way, you will hear from professionals in the field and gather helpful tips on how to tell dynamic feature stories in this modern era.
This book discusses how to engage communities in your reporting, incorporate your own experiences into your work and focus stories more on solutions than on problems—all in ways that appeal to Digital Age audiences. And because there is no such thing as being “just a print reporter” anymore, you will learn best practices for storytelling on multimedia platforms, including traditional technologies (cameras, audio, video) and newer mobile applications.
Content and Organization
This book is divided into three sections:
1 Beyond the Ws: Concepts and Considerations
2 Going Deeper with Focused Reporting and Writing
3 Multimedia for the Print/Online Journalist
Beyond the Ws: Concepts and Considerations
This section begins with an overview of journalism today. You will learn about the impact of online media on journalists and news audiences by showing examples of how our work has changed rapidly in the past decade. The first chapter examines the effects that fake news, social media and converging newsrooms have had on journalism and society. It also explores the ways in which journalists’ roles are changing based on audience expectations for variety and interactivity in online content.
The next two chapters are aimed at defining and practicing feature writing. Features include a wide variety of topics and techniques. They run the gamut from coverage of community events to heartwarming profiles to in-depth examinations of trends and issues affecting audiences locally and globally. In these chapters, you will learn how to uncover feature story ideas and tell them in the most impactful and interesting ways possible.
Interviewing and ethics are the two areas that have seen the most change in the Digital Age. Journalists now have greater access to sources online, granting them unprecedented access to those most affected by news events. But social media also give audiences greater ability to critique reporters publicly, making transparency and adherence to journalism ethics more important than ever. These chapters include foundational instruction on conducting thorough interviews and acting responsibly as a journalist, as well as coaching on ways to adapt to modern times. You will learn how to use social media as a tool for advancing truth and inclusion in your work and how to address the challenges of reporting in an online environment.
Going Deeper With Focused Reporting and Writing
This section focuses on three strategies for audience-centric reporting that will appeal to Digital Age news consumers and help restore wavering audience trust in our profession. Learning immersion journalism will enable you to report with empathy so that you can reflect your sources’ experiences truthfully. Reporting with immersion journalism can also stimulate audience interest in your stories. When you have a deeper connection with the topic, you are more likely to produce news with a passion that will help audiences relate more personally to you and your work.
Although community journalism is not a new concept, many media analysts have pointed to it as a type of reporting that works in the Digital Age. You will learn techniques for engaging with citizens to report local stories that resonate with those affected. You will also learn about niche journalism—reporting on topics geared toward specific readers who share a common interest, social concern, or identity. The rise of social media and the ease of accessing news online have popularized niche news sites and stories among audiences who desire more customized content.
Solutions journalism is a relatively new movement prompting reporters to focus less on problems and more on people and groups who are helping to solve those problems. The practice is not a mandate to stop reporting on problems, nor does it prompt journalists to produce only stories of good news. Solutions journalism helps relieve news fatigue among audiences who feel overwhelmed with the barrage of stories fixated on society’s ills by serving them with remedies instead.
Multimedia for the Print/Online Journalist
Audiences are shifting from print to online. News organizations that track the varied needs and interests of online readers are demanding more from their reporters. Emerging reporters need to be equipped with basic multimedia skills when entering the newsroom. In these chapters, you will learn skills for producing videos, photos, and audio recordings that can either supplement or replace written feature stories. Instruction is designed to aid journalists who are more familiar with writing. The last chapter offers a guiding hand for learning better shot composition, editing, and other technical skills associated with multimedia reporting.
The book concludes with a look at popular and emerging trends in multimedia reporting that appeal to audiences and help journalists tell stories in innovative ways. The chapter begins by encouraging writers to employ alternative storytelling formats and apps to present information in audience-centric, creative ways. You will also learn about new tools for telling stories in the air with drones, on the ground with action cameras. And let’s not forget new frontiers in interactive media, such as augmented and virtual reality. Each section of the chapter contains best practices for using these technologies, as well as suggestions for apps that make it possible to produce these stories easily and effectively.
Special Features
This book presents several special features that provide instruction on a variety of need-to-know topics. Each chapter begins with an introductory section, titled “Diving In.” In this section, you will be introduced to the main topic with stories of journalists in the field and an explanation of why the topic matters in the Digital Age. Many chapters also include breakout boxes containing graphics to emphasize and illustrate points made within the text. And each chapter concludes with a list of four “Takeaways” you should have after completing your reading.
Words With Pros
Each chapter contains a short feature article based on an interview with a journalism professional who has expertise on the chapter topic. Interviewees spotlighted in these features were drawn from the ranks of today’s most innovative editors and reporters working in TV, radio or print/online publications. The text also relies on the eminent advice of book authors and specialists from journalism think tanks and advocacy organizations, such as Poynter, the Solutions Journalism Network and the Ethical Journalism Network. You will learn best practices in journalism directly from the seasoned experts who are on the ground doing the work.
Helpful Hints
“Helpful Hints” features contain valuable information in easy-to-digest boxes. Topics range from how to increase your own media literacy skills to writing and production dos and don’ts to suggestions for ways to report with greater depth and meaning. Reporters can use these as checklists for their writing, reporting and production or as guides for practicing different storytelling techniques.
From the Field
A journalism text can be helpful only if it includes real stories and examples from the field. These selected features include short articles about journalism educators, reporters and media companies such as the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Hearken. These field notes also provide explanations of journalism practices and guidelines used by media organizations. Each of these boxes is filled with real-world advice and instruction from people and organizations who have dedicated their lives to studying journalism strategies and applying them in the field.