Alternative Assignment: The Independent Newspaper Feature Story

Feature stories at free papers like The Independent usually have some local interest angle that perhaps is going under-reported at conventional news outlets.  For instance, a year ago they ran a series of articles on the layoffs and downsizing at Raleigh's premier newspaper, the News and Observer.  There is something of a paradox when news is being made by the main source of in-depth reporting in an area.  Without good feature stories by outlets like the Independent, these fringe matters could remain under-reported.

That's not to say that only fringe stories make it into these papers.  Other examples include mismanagement of funds at a local non-profit or, in the 10/14/2009 issue, an extended spread introducing prospective voters to candidates in local races along with the Independent's endorsements for each race.  Other examples could include a run down of the State Fair when it's in town, or an extended review of a local band who gives a show nearby.  Because these weeklies are not attempting to be exhaustive in their coverage of the news, they can pick and chose which stories get their attention -- which stories turn into long, sustained, feature stories -- with a great deal of latitude.

This assignment will try to help you perform two functions.  The first is to develop a good ear for what the local community might find interesting.  What sorts of stories are under-reported in your area?  What sorts of stories might be reported with a clear bias that needs addressing? 

While writing these feature stories, our emphasis must be on the audience.  You need to have a very clear picture of your audience, and to be able to answer three questions without any hesitation if I were to ask them.

1. Who is your intended audience?
2. Why do you believe it's important to target them?
3. How specifically do the interests of this audience differ from your own interests?

To help us accomplish this, we're first going to create a sort of story "bullpen".  The most accessible picture of a bullpen right now is probably TMZ's.  TMZ is a gossip "magazine" (like The Enquirer) which publishes a website and also has a television show.  Some of the stories on TMZ are of questionable social value, and some discretion and maturity is required while viewing.  That said, when their "reporters" come together and discuss what might make for good television, they are performing a time-honored tradition in newspaper publishing, when reporters come together to pitch story ideas for their editor.  Since printed newspapers have limited space, and each story costs money to print, there is a fairly fierce battle to see who gets their story published.

After forming a story idea and answering the three questions, above, about its intended audience, you'll need to present the story to your classmates in a sort of bullpen.  We'll discuss how interesting each is, and attempt to rank them in order of interest.  If there's very little interest in your idea, you might consider changing it.  Once we have pretty good ideas, we'll talk more about the composition process.

Assignment Requirements

To be overly clear, this will be a paper of at least nine pages in length and 3300 words of Times New Roman, 12-point font.  Margins should be no more than one inch for the top and bottom and one and a quarter inches (1.25") for the left and right margins.  Text should be double-spaced, as this allows for easier editing by reviewers both when printed and when comments are added electronically.