How to Write a Feature Story

How to Write a Feature Story Courtesy: oztypewriter.blogspot.com I find that one of the biggest challenges journalistic writing have to face is  their first feature story. The process involves an awful lot of tact, fairness, honesty, and integrity. Youre painting a picture of this person to your community. While you want to do them justice, you also want to present an unbiased piece. After all, youre still writing for a newspaper. In this way, feature stories ask for something thats nearly impossible. They ask us to get to know a person, learn to appreciate their qualities, interview them, meet with them, yet still go home at the end of the day and write a story that isnt over-the-top positive. You arent their personal cheerleader. So, how do you find that balance? Below are the six steps that I use to write a feature story. However, I will add that, the more you practice with this particular skill, the better your pieces are going to become. 1. Choose an interesting, newsworthy subject Weve talked about picking an interesting, timely, and relevant topic for other types of writing. But this is a bit more specific. You need to feature a person, group, or business. In other words, you need to pick a subject. This can be difficult. After all, you might know several subjects personally, making it impossible to cover them, even if they are interesting and relevant. And, even if you can come up with a quality idea, not all subjects (include directors, founders, owners, and individuals) are going to be willing to meet with you. Feature stories have to come together in a very specific way. Its like watching puzzle pieces fall into place. 2. Schedule a convenient, in-person interview This is where the going gets tough. You need to contact your subject and schedule an in-person (not email, not cell phone, not Skype) interview. If youre covering a group or entity, you may need to interview two or three different people, and you might not be able to get all of your interviewees at one time. Thus, the process becomes a bit muddled. Feature stories, for the most part, arent timely. Unless youre covering a subject that has, very recently, done something thats been covered in the news, you dont need to rush a good piece. You can take your time, work on other stories, and let the interviews come together when the time is right for your subject. Then, and only then, can you conduct a serious, professional interview that gives you all of the information that you need to write a great story. 3. Choose your quotes When youve finished your interviews, sit down at your computer and pull quotes. (As always, I suggest recording your interview to guarantee precise quotations.) The quotes that you pull should have an underlying theme; representing the angle that youre going to use for your story. Maybe you want to have an overarching theme of helping the community when covering a local grocery store. Or, maybe you want to show the motivated side of a local quarterback. Find your angle, and stick to it. Thats what makes an interesting, honest story. 4. Write your draft Now, go ahead and compile your piece. Usually, with feature stories, youll start by placing your quotes and building around them. After all, what your subject has to say is more relevant than what you have to say. The community wants to hear their voice. Which means, by the way, that you shouldnt be afraid to include a lot of quotations. I usually make my feature stories 50-60% quotations from my subject, as well as my subjects friends, family, owners, founders, managers, etc. Between two or three interviewees, you can usually find quite a bit of meat for your piece. Just remember, this story is about their voice. Not yours. 5. Ask for approval/clarification before publishing Once youve finished, you can do one of two things. First, you can send your work immediately to your professor or editor and call it a day.  Or you can send the piece to your subject for review. Remember, this does not mean your subject has a free pass to add or change whatever they want. In fact, you shouldnt give them the paste  right to change anything at all. Thats just professional news writing. But, youre going to want to make sure that your quotes and facts are correct. This is your subjects chance to be introduced to the community. Many writers believe that the importance of this moment gives them the inherent right to quickly review your story and alert you if anything is incorrect. Personally, I agree. 6. Move forward Assuming your subject has no factual qualms with what youve written, go ahead and submit your work. And thats all there is to writing a feature piece.

The people of the Northwest Coast essays

The people of the Northwest Coast essays The moderate temperatures on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, where different cultural groups lived including, the Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit, Nishga, Gitksan, Nishga, Nvxalk, Heiltsuk, Kwakiutl, Nuu-Chah-Nulth and the Coast Salish. Each group had their own unique lifestyles, and spiritual beliefs which where going to discuss today. This was depended on their surroundings of an area which judged the lifestyle of the native peoples living in that region. Firstly, the Northwest Coast peoples lifestyle was decided by their surroundings. Five significant components consisted of food, clothing, tools, housing and First of all, housing was necessary because it provided shelter from British Columbias wet climate. The Haida of the Northwest Coast lived in huge cedar houses. These houses were about 8 metres high, 9-12 metres wide and 45 metres long. The houses were built by large cedar poles with massive planks placed into the frames to make the walls and roof. As many as two hundred people could live in one of the cedar houses. Inside the building raised a platform all around the walls which made the Second of all, food was very important because it provided nutrition for the people. For the Tlingit and the other tribes of the Northwest Coast, the ocean was the major source of food, providing, salmon, herring, crabs, oysters clams, muscles, seaweed and other types of fish. The Nvxalk tribe also picked cranberries, huckle berries and blue berries. They stored the berries in oil to keep them from spoiling. Third of all, clothing was an essential component because it provided warmth from the climate of British Columbias coast. The Nuu-Chah-Nulths tribe, both male and female wore woven bark and root hats that had been made from cedar. Also a chilikat blanket was made from hair and bark. ...

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies Essay - 9

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies - Essay Example ith products such as beverages and food and later the company diversified into various sector of electronics, clothing, financial services, retailing, etc. The company performs all its operations on the basis of one specific value that is to deliver its customers with good, better and best products. The success of the company is only because of its business and corporate level strategies. Tesco’s main business comes from its retailing segment that accounts for approximately 60% of the total profit that is generated by the business. The business level strategy is a plan that is adopted by a company so as to utilize its resources in order to achieve its business goals. The company has even invested  £1 billion so that it could provide a very pleasant shopping experience to all its customers who visit Tesco stores. The company has even subdivided its business level strategy into seven parts so that it can achieve its business goals and even provide their customers with high valued service. This business level strategy that was formulated was mainly to ensure that the company sets plans for its long term growth and profitability. The first part of the strategy is to grow in the UK market (Desjardins, 2005). The company wants to grow the core market of UK. The business tactics that were designed to support this strategy was to expand the staff base by 20,000 in t he next two years, implement new promotions for its products and services, and even to restructure all its store designs. This strategy was mainly adopted to give customers more importance and wanted. The second part of the strategy to be the creator of all famous and high value brands in the market. This strategy involved creation of its own label such as Tesco Finest and F&F clothing. This indicated delivery products that were of high quality and that also at the most reasonable price. The third part of the strategy is to develop itself as an outstanding retailer both in stores as well as in online. The

A Bottled Water Company Called Quench Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Bottled Water Company Called Quench - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that Quench is a target of bad media attention with regards to its environmental issues linked to packaging, sustainable resources and ecological logistics. The global economic downturn has not helped improve its situation, resulting in declining sales. As business’ social responsibility become increasingly important in the eyes of stakeholders, Quench’s position as a social responsible organisation is tarnished. According to the paper the company’s steady growth over the past decade has been attributed to its competitive pricing strategies, strong advertising campaigns and a good reputation. Thus, having its reputation ruined by a series of bad publicity could further hurt its performance as a market leader in sports drink products. Moreover, Quench’s management appears to be taking its time to rectify the situation. With this, worldwide customers will become alarmed about its seemingly lack of concern for the environment. The fact that its brand is connected with trust and reliability, the issue on hand has made these hard to believe. The crisis management of Quench must come together to analyse the problem and discuss corrective actions to take. A press statement addressing the issue should be released quickly to show that the company is aware of the public’s concern and is taking steps to deal and rectify the situation. The company’s quick reaction to the matter will place it in a better light because it is giving out positive image of how it is handling the problem. On the other hand, delayed response to the public will further harm Quench’s reputation, as the media will continuously publish damaging reports on the issue.

Con side of John McCain's healthcare plan for Economic class Essay

Con side of John McCain's healthcare plan for Economic class - Essay Example This sounds like pie in the sky rhetoric to many economists. Insurance companies are driven by competition; therefore they act in their own self-interest. The interest of the insurance company is to insure as many healthy people as possible so they dont need to respond to insurance claims from the insured. Covering someone with a pre-existing condition, such as cancer is not in the best interest of the insurance company, no matter how much competition is introduced into the industry (Krugman). Also troubling is McCains ideological methodology for implementing increased competition, namely, decreased regulation. During the height of the campaign to be elected president, John McCain published an article in a magazine called Contingencies, which is published by the American Academy of Actuaries. McCain actually writes in the article that he would follow a similar course in deregulating the health care sector of the economy in much the same manner as we have deregulated the financial sector. Having the article published in the midst of the Wall Street meltdown makes McCains anti-regulation ideology seem dated and out of touch (Balz). After the Wall Street meltdown and the catastrophic failure of the market to regulate itself, proposing a free market solution to health care simply because it introduces competition sounds naà ¯ve, economically

Small farmers

Small farmers Small farmers produce most of the food that we consume globally. But North and South, smallholder producers are leaving the land and food production is becoming increasingly the concern of big business. Does it matter? On 31 March fourteen international panelists considered the most salient issues confronting small farmers today in the IFAD-supported debate Failing the farmer? on BBC World. How important is small scale farming? How can development of small scale farming contribute to poverty reduction? Why should we care about small scale farming? What problems are encountered in implementing effective policies that should support small scale farmers? How important is global market access? The global discussion about poverty reduction is usually strictly related with farmers with small land holdings because the majority of the worlds poor belong to such households. Secondly, it has been estimated that about 70 percent of worlds poor are concentrated in rural areas where two out of three billion rural people reside in about 450 million small farms. Furthermore, the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger estimates that in small scale farms reside about half of worlds hungry people including three quarters of Africas malnourished children (WDR, 2008). Improvement in the situation of the small scale farmers will likely result in a decreasing of the population living in poverty. Therefore in order to reduce rural poverty, policies are needed to support small-scale farming and have to be addressed in particular to women and children. The concept of Food Sovereignty provides an important framework for policy makers to design such measures. The association Via Campesina defines Food Sovereignty as the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations. It defends the interests and inclusion of the next generation. It offers a strategy to resist and dismantle the current corporate trade and food regime, and directions for food, farming, pastoral and fisheries systems determined by local producers. Food sovereignty prioritizes local and national economies and markets and empowers peasant and family farmer-driven agriculture, artisanal fishing, pastoralist-led grazing, and food production, distribution and consumption based on environment al, social and economic sustainability. Food sovereignty promotes transparent trade that guarantees just income to all peoples and the rights of consumers to control their food and nutrition. It ensures that the rights to use and manage our lands, territories, waters, seeds, livestock and biodiversity are in the hands of those of us who produce food. Food sovereignty implies new social relations free of oppression and inequality between men and women, peoples, racial groups, social classes and generations (Via Campesina, 2008). The idea of Food Sovereignty points out the fundamental right of the human being to be able to consume and produce food locally, according to the local environment conditions and cultures. The agro food industry and the rapid globalization of markets are the main drivers of these changes in the food-chain structure: the production strategies in the agro food business are defined mainly by economic terms; moreover, a long-term view in food and agricultural sy stems is needed and has to keep in count the efficiency, quality and sustainability of the production. Nowadays the international society is aware of the damage caused by industrial farming system all over the planet: it is a major contributor to global warming through intensive use of fossil fuels for fertilizers, agrochemicals, production, transport, processing, refrigeration and retailing; crop and livestock genetic diversity has been lost through the spread of industrial monocultures reducing resilience in the face of climate; agrochemical nutrient pollution causes biological dead zones and other relevant environmental problems; human activity produces more nitrogen than all natural processes combined (FAO, 2008). According to the stated reasons the current model of industrialized food production appears to be not sustainable. It makes farmers increasingly dependent on external inputs (pesticides, fertilizers, veterinary support, hormones, etc.) and big amount of external capita l. This industrialized production system is usually intensive and not linked to a correct soil management or conservation strategy. The export oriented production systems are not created to respect local ecological conditions or to meet local food needs and farmers lose control over production decisions. The National Commission on Small Farms reported the following, Small farms contribute more than farm production to our society. Small farms embody a diversity of ownership, cropping systems, landscapes, biological organization, culture, and traditions. Since the majority of farmland is managed by a large number of small farm operators, the responsible management of soil, water, and wildlife encompassed by these farms produce significant environmental benefits. Decentralized land ownership produces more equitable economic opportunity for people in rural communities, and offers self employment and business management opportunities (National Commission on Small Farms, 1998). The survival of small scale farming it is a crucial issue because small farming system often permits an higher differentiation of the production, relies on a long historic experience with local resources (water, soil, climate, plant and animal varieties) and farmers are capable to produce the optimal quantity and q uality of food with less external inputs. Products are mainly grown for their own families and consumers of the same region and tend to meet local food needs. This model, based on small scale farms, is also labour intensive, a resource that is available in abundance in most regions of the world, instead of capital intensive like the extensive farms production system. Moreover, the outputs of production are deeply linked to the soil and therefore its correct management in a long term perspective will be more likely pursued. Smallholders face significant challenges that obstacle their participation in new marketing opportunities. Markets in the developing world are characterized by imperfections such as lack of information on prices and technologies, high transaction costs, and credit constraints. Moreover, the modern production systems often expect larger supply volumes, favoring larger farmers. With the increasing number of free trade agreements affecting both national and international commodity markets, smallholder farmers are forced to compete not only with their local producers, but also with farmers from other countries as well as domestic and international agribusinesses. Sharpen marketing skills are also needed by small scale farmers: the opportunity for smallholders to raise their incomes from agricultural production, natural resource management, and related rural enterprises increasingly depends on their ability to sell their goods not just at local, but also regional and even international ma rkets. Nowadays, technological advances require investments in human and physical capital, as well as advanced relationships with a wide network of suppliers and traders of inputs and services. In this environment, small scale farmers are difficult to locate the required financial resources and integrate. Seems to be hard to point out the reasons why effective policies are not being implemented: many economic interests are involved and usually in the society small scale farmers are stakeholders with limited power. One possible solution could come from changes in the demand in the agro food market: we assist in a raise of the demand of high quality local product from the consumers, in particular in Europe; secondly, the value for rural services (rural tourism, social farming and other activities) is rapidly increasing, bringing more opportunities for small scale farmers. These changes can be the drivers for the implementation of sound policies directed in particular to rural areas and to small scale farmers. List of participants in the debate Kevin Cleaver Assistant President, IFAD and farmer Working to enable small farmers, we can slow down the migration from rural to urban areas. Pedro Sanchez Director of Tropical Agriculture, Earth Institute, Columbia University The crucial factor is to fertilize the soil and manage water supplies. GM is a political issue, with no proven risk. Paul Nicholson European co-coordinator, La Via Campesina Via Campesina coined the expression and is working to promote food sovereignty (national food security). Makanjuola Olaseinde Arigbede Union of Small and Medium Scale Farmers of Nigeria and farmer Smallholder farmers labour on their farms, not merely to feed their beleaguered families but entire nations, despite the great obstacles placed in their way at all levels. Simeon Greene Relationship Director, Windward Banana Development Without Fair Trade, the Windward Islands would be out of the banana market. Theyre able to survive because consumers in the UK have taken the decision to buy Fair Trade Produce. Esther Penunia Secretary General, Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) Farmers tend to be poorly organized only 10 per cent are organized into farmers groups. So, although they represent a large constituency, they have little influence politically. This must change! Peter Robbins Ex-commodities trader, author and activist Liberalization and the collapse of international commodity agreements has led to the impoverishment of farmers in producing countries. We need to reinstate international commodity agreements. Duncan Green Head of Policy, Oxfam Oxfam is now looking to develop policy on the wider agricultural debate not just on trade. Specifically were looking at how to support and empower farmers. Norah Olembo Executive Director, Africa Biotech Stakeholders Forum The big issue is acceptance. Worldwide this type of science has been seen as humans tampering with Gods work. Science becomes hard for ordinary people to comprehend, but one can move a gene from one plant to the other. Its all about education. We have not seen any harm to humans. Andrew Bennett Biotechnology Marketing Lead, Europe-Africa, Monsanto Each year the global population grows by more than 70 million and agriculture is required to produce more food with limited land and water resources. But biotechnology can help. Over the next decade biotechnology promises to deliver products that address land and resource limitations, with qualities such as drought tolerance, as well as deliver products with direct consumer benefits. Crawford Falconer Agriculture Chairman, World Trade Organization (WTO) International trade works if you have the right social and economic policies in place within countries already. Countries cant isolate themselves forever. Louise Fresco Professor, Sustainable Development, University of Amsterdam Small farmers around the world are leaving the land because life is too hard and they need other sources of income as well. Globalization brings opportunities for the developing world, but markets will not take care of poor people. Catherine Kainja Kaluluma Minister for Education, Government of Malawi Anthony Gooch Head, Media and Public Diplomacy, European Commission

Selfish Ambition Frankenstein Essay -- Essays Papers

Selfish Ambition Frankenstein Selfish Ambition? The question â€Å"What makes us who we are?† has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born â€Å"good†, â€Å"evil†, and as â€Å"blank slates†, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in â€Å"good† homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818 to voice her opinions about determining personality and th e consequences and repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially "good" in the beginning of life, but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as Frankenstein), Victor Frankenstein’s creature with human characteristics shows us that people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates how the influence of society can change one’s outlook of others and life itself by his reactions to adversity at â€Å"birth†, and his actions after being alienated and rejected by humans several times. In the first chapters of the book, Shelley describes a scientist who was obsessed with "doing something great" for mankind. Victor Frankenstein, an educated man of science, was completely involved with his work, which happened to be the creation of another living being with human qualities. Once Victor’s work was finally completed, he realized that he had created a â€Å"monster†, and he was terrified. Mary Shelley, supporting Rousseau's theory, definitely believed that people are born essentially with good intentions and feelings, and she shows this from the first few moments of the creature’s life. When Victor was lying terrified in his bed, the creature came i... ... good, but can be turned to evil by society’s narrow-minded view of what is normal, and the corruption of the mind through knowledge and education. The repercussions of Victor’s and others alienation of the creature turned a caring individual to an evil one. Shelley succeeds in bringing Rousseau's theory to life, that one is born good, but he can be turned to evil through civilization and education. This story still has a great meaning for us today. Millions of people are outcast by society, not only because of physical appearance, but also because of sexual orientation, social status, and religion. Once people quit looking so narrow-mindedly at one another, the world will be a much better place, and Frankenstein's "monster" will rest in peace! Works Cited Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley - Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. New York, New York: Routledge, Chapman, & Hall, Inc., 1989. p 136. Scott, Sir Walter. "Remarks on Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus; A Novel." Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 1 April 1818. 26 April 2001. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus - 1818 Text. Ed. Marilyn Butler. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.