A news feature, also known as a documentary in broadcasting, is an opportunity to dig more deeply into the subject matter of current events than is possible within regular newspaper or television news stories. A news feature can have many different angles and can be as broad or as narrow in its subject as the audience it is targeting.
The first thing to remember about making a news feature is that your audience should be at the forefront of every decision you make about what to cover, who to interview and how to approach it. You should try to understand their demographics – gender, age, education, income and cultural interests. This can restrict the range of topics you will choose, but should not stop you being imaginative and creative in your productions.
Use of a wide variety of voices and dialects is also important. It keeps your copy lively and interesting, and draws the audience in. Use of verbs such as “to be” and “to do” tends to slow down the pace of copy, so avoid them unless there is no other option.
News features are usually based on facts, so if you say something is happening, have some evidence to back it up. For example, if you are reporting that there is an epidemic of homelessness in your city, you need to have figures to back it up. Likewise, if you are reporting that a local drug is spreading, talk to addicts and cops for your quotes.