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he Profile

A profile is an article about an individual, and the profile article is one of the staples of

feature writing. No doubt you've read profiles in newspapers, magazines or websites.

Reporters do them on politicians, CEs, celebrities, athletes, and so on. !rofiles can be done

on "ust about anyone who's interesting and newsworthy, whether it's on a local, national or

international level.

#he idea of the profile is to give readers a behind$the$scenes loo% at what a person is really

li%e, warts and all, away from their public persona. !rofile articles generally provide

 bac%ground on the profile sub"ect $ their age, where they grew up and were educated, where

they live now, are they married, do they have %ids, etc.

&eyond such factual basics, profiles loo% at who and what influenced the person, their ideas,

and their choice of vocation or profession.

f you're doing a profile you'll obviously need to interview your sub"ect, in person if possible,

so that in addition to getting (uotes you can describe their appearance and mannerisms. )ou

should also watch the person in action, doing what they do, whether it be a mayor, a doctor

or a beat cop. Also, tal% to people who %now the person you're profiling, and if your profile

sub"ect is controversial, tal% to some of his*her critics.Remember, your goal is to create a true portrait of your profile sub"ect. No puff pieces

allowed.

The News Feature

#he news feature is "ust what it sounds li%e $ a feature article that focuses on a topic of

interest in the news. News features often cover the same sub"ects as deadline hard$news

stories, but do so in greater depth and detail.

And since feature articles are +people stories,+ news features tend to focus on individuals

more than deadline news stories, which often focus more on numbers and statistics.

or instance, let's say you're writing about the increase in heart disease. A deadline story on

the topic might focus on statistics showing how heart disease is on the rise, and include

(uotes from e-perts on the topic.

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A news feature, on the other hand, would li%ely begin by telling the story of one person

suffering from heart disease. &y describing he struggles of an individual, news feature can

tac%le big, newsy topics while still telling very human stories.

The Spot Feature

pot features are feature stories produced on deadline that focus on a brea%ing news

event. ften news features are used as sidebars to the mainbar , the main deadline news

story about an event.

/et's say a tornado hits your town. )our mainbar will focus on the five 0's and the 1 of the

story $ the number of casualties, the e-tent of the damage, the rescue efforts involved, and so

on.

&ut with the mainbar you could have any number of sidebars focusing on certain aspects of

the event. ne story might describe the scene at an emergency shelter where displaced

residents are housed. Another might reflect on past tornadoes in your town. )et another

might e-amine the weather conditions that led to the destructive storm.

/iterally dozens of different sidebars could be done in this case, and more often than not they

would be written in a feature style.

The Trend Story

s there a cool new loo% in women's fall fashions2 A website or tech gadget that everyone's

going nuts over2 An indy band that's attracted a cult following2 A show on an obscure cable

channel that's suddenly hot2 #hese are the %inds of things that trend stories zero in on.

#rend stories ta%e the pulse of the culture at the moment, loo%ing at what's new, fresh and

e-citing in the world of art, fashion, film, music, high$technology and so on. #he emphasis in

trend stories is usually on light, (uic%, easy$to$read pieces that capture the spirit of whatever

new trend is being discussed. n other words, if you're writing a trend story, have fun with it.

The Live-In

#he live$in is an in$depth, often magazine$length article that paints a picture of a particular

 place and the people who wor% or live there. /ive$ins have been done on homeless shelters,

emergency rooms, battlefield encampments, cancer hospices, public schools and police

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 precincts, among other locales. #he idea is to give readers a loo% at a place they probably

wouldn't normally encounter.

Reporters doing live$ins must spend a fair bit of time in the places they're writing about 3thus

the name4. #hat's how they get a real sense of the place's rhythm and atmosphere. Reportershave spent days, wee%s and even months doing live$ins 3some have been turned into boo%s4.

#he live$in is really the ultimate e-ample of the reporter immersing him or herself in the

story. 

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Related Articles

• Mainbars and Sidebars - What's the Difference

•   Journalism is gathering, processing, and dissemination of news and information

related to the news to an audience. The word applies to both the method of inquiring

for news and the literary style which is used to disseminate it.[1] [2]

• The media that journalism uses vary diversely and include content published via

newspapers and maga!ines "print#, television and radio "broadcast#, and their digital

media versions $ news websites and applications.

• %n modern society, the news media is the chief purveyor of information and opinion

about public affairs. &ournalism, however, is not always confined to the news media

or to news itself, as journalistic communication may find its way into broader forms of 

e'pression, including literature and cinema. %n some nations, the news media is

controlled by government intervention, and is not a fully independent body.[(]

• %n a democratic society, however, access to free information plays a central role in

creating a system of chec)s and balance, and in distributing power equally amongst

governments, businesses, individuals, and other social entities. *ccess to verifiable

information gathered by independent media sources, which adhere to journalistic

standards, can also be of service to ordinary citi!ens, by empowering them with the

tools they need in order to participate in the political process.

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• The role and status of journalism, along with that of the mass media, has undergone

profound changes over the last two decades with the advent of digital technology

and publication of news on the %nternet.[+] This has created a shift in the consumption

of print media channels, as people increasingly consume news through ereaders,

smartphones, and other electronic devices, challenging news organi!ations to fully

moneti!e their digital wing, as well as improvise on the conte't in which they publish

news in print. -otably, in the *merican media landscape, newsrooms have reduced

their staff and coverage as traditional media channels, such as television, grapple

with declining audiences. or instance, between 2//0 and 2/12, -- edited its

story pac)ages into nearly half of their original time length.[]

• This compactness in coverage has been lin)ed to broad audience attrition, as a large

majority of respondents in recent studies show changing preferences in newsconsumption.[3] The digital era has also ushered in a new )ind of journalism in which

ordinary citi!ens play a greater role in the process of newsma)ing, with the rise

of citi!en journalism being possible through the %nternet. 4sing video camera

equipped smartphones, active citi!ens are now enabled to record footage of news

events and upload them onto channels li)e 5ouTube, which is often discovered and

used by mainstream news media outlets. 6eanwhile, easy access to news from a

variety of online sources, li)e blogs and other social media, has resulted in readers

being able

•  *dvocacy journalism 7 writing to advocate particular viewpoints or influence the

opinions of the audience.

• 8roadcast journalism 7 written or spo)en journalism for radio or television.

• 9rone journalism 7 use of drones to capture journalistic footage.[:]

• ;on!o journalism 7 first championed by <unter =. Thompson, gon!o journalism is a

>highly personal style of reporting>. [?]

• %nvestigative journalism the use of investigation on a subject matter while

uncovering news events.

• @hotojournalism the telling of a story through its images.

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• =ensor journalism the use of sensors to support journalistic inquiry.

• Tabloid journalism 7 writing that is lighthearted and entertaining.

•

5ellow journalism "or sensationalism# 7 writing which emphasises e'aggeratedclaims or rumours.

The recent rise of social media has resulted in arguments to reconsider journalism as a

process rather than attributing it to particular news products. rom this perspective,

 journalism is participatory, a process distributed among multiple authors and involving

 journalists as well as the socially mediating public.[1/]

History [edit]

%n the 1?2/s, as modern journalism was just ta)ing form, writer Aalter Bippmann and

 *merican philosopher &ohn 9ewey debated over the role of journalism in a democracy.

Their differing philosophies still characteri!e a debate about the role of journalism in society

and the nationstate.

Bippmann understood that journalismCs role at the time was to act as a mediator

or translator between the public and policy ma)ing elites. The journalist became the

middleman. Ahen elites spo)e, journalists listened and recorded the information, distilled it,

and passed it on to the public for their consumption. <is reasoning behind this was that the

public was not in a position to deconstruct the growing and comple' flurry of information

present in modern society, and so an intermediary was needed to filter news for the

masses. Bippmann put it this way The public is not smart enough to understand

complicated political issues. urthermore, the public was too consumed with their daily lives

to care about comple' public policy. Therefore, the public needed someone to interpret the

decisions or concerns of the elite to ma)e the information plain and simple. Bippmann

believed that the public would affect the decisionma)ing of the elite with their vote. %n the

meantime, the elite "i.e. politicians, policy ma)ers, bureaucrats, scientists, etc.# would )eep

the business of power running. %n BippmannCs world, the journalistCs role was to inform the

public of what the elites were doing. %t was also to act as a watchdog over the elites, as the

public had the final say with their votes. Dffectively, that )ept the public at the bottom of the

power chain, catching the flow of information handed down from e'perts and elites.

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BippmannCs elitism has had consequences that he came to deplore. *n apostle of

historicism and scientism, Bippmann did not merely hold that democratic government was a

problematic e'ercise, but regarded all political communities, of whatever stripe, as needing

guidance from a transcendent partisanship for accurate information and dispassionate

 judgment. %n >Biberty and the -ews> "1?1?# and >@ublic Epinion> "1?21# Bippmann

e'pressed the hope that liberty could be redefined to ta)e account of the scientific and

historical perspective and that public opinion could be managed by a system of intelligence

in and out of government. Thus the liberty of the journalist was to be dedicated to gathering

verifiable facts while commentators li)e himself would place the news in the broader

perspective. Bippmann deplored the influence of powerful newspaper publishers and

preferred the judgments of the >patient and fearless men of science.> %n so doing, he did not

merely denigrate the opinion of the majority but also of those who had influence or power as

well. %n a republican form of government, the representatives are chosen by the people and

share with them adherence to the fundamental principles and political institutions of the

polity. BippmannCs quarrel was with those very principles and institutions, for they are the

product of the prescientific and prehistorical viewpoint and what for him was a groundless

natural rights political philosophy.

8ut Bippmann turned against what he called the >collectivism> of the @rogressive movement

he encouraged with its deemphasis on the foundations of *merican politics and

government and ultimately wrote a wor), >The @ublic @hilosophy> "1?#, which came very

close to a return to the principles of the *merican founders.

&ohn 9ewey

9ewey, on the other hand, believed the public was not only capable of understanding the

issues created or responded to by the elite, it was in the public forum that decisions should

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be made after discussion and debate. Ahen issues were thoroughly vetted, then the best

ideas would bubble to the surface. 9ewey believed journalists should do more than simply

pass on information. <e believed they should weigh the consequences of the policies being

enacted. Ever time, his idea has been implemented in various degrees, and is more

commonly )nown as >community journalism>.

This concept of community journalism is at the centre of new developments in journalism. %n

this new paradigm, journalists are able to engage citi!ens and the e'perts and elites in the

proposition and generation of content. Ahile there is an assumption of equality, 9ewey still

celebrated e'pertise. 9ewey believed the shared )nowledge of many to be far superior to a

single individualCs )nowledge. D'perts and scholars are welcome in 9eweyCs framewor), but

there is not the hierarchical structure present in BippmannCs understanding of journalism

and society. *ccording to 9ewey, conversation, debate, and dialogue lie at the heart of a

democracy.

Ahile BippmannCs journalistic philosophy might be more acceptable to government leaders,

9eweyCs approach is a more encompassing description of how many journalists see their

role in society, and, in turn, how much of society e'pects journalists to function. *mericans,

for e'ample, may critici!e some of the e'cesses committed by journalists, but they tend to

e'pect journalists to serve as watchdogs on government, businesses and actors, enabling

people to ma)e informed decisions on the issues of the time.

Elements[edit]&ournalists interviewing a cosplayer 

8ill Fovach and Tom Gosenstiel propose several guidelines for journalists in their boo) The

Elements of Journalism.[1(] 8ecause journalismCs first loyalty is to the citi!enry, journalists are

obliged to tell the truth and must serve as an independent monitor of powerful individuals

and institutions within society. The essence of journalism is to provide citi!ens with reliable

information through the discipline of verification.

T5@D= E -DA=@*@DG *GT%BD=

6ost of the articles you see in The 9ispatch are news articles. -ews articles focus only on the

facts HDT<I they donCt contain anyoneCs opinion There are several types of news articles.

 * local news article focuses on whatCs going on in your neighborhood. *n e'ample of a local

news story would be an article on a city council meeting.

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 * national news article focuses on whatCs happening in the 4nited =tates. *n e'ample of a

national news article would be an article on the 4.=. =enate passing a new bill.

 *n international news article focuses on news thatCs happening outside the 4nited =tates.

 * story on an influen!a outbrea) in hile would be considered an international news story.

 * feature article is an article that is about >softer> news. * feature may be a profile of a

person who does a lot of volunteer wor) in the community or a movie preview. eature articles

are not considered news stories.

 *n editorial is an article that contains the writerCs opinion. Dditorials are usually run all

together on a specific page of the paper and focus on current events. Dditorials are not

considered news stories.

 * column is an article written by the same person on a regular basis. * columnist "the writer of 

the column# writes about subjects of interest to himJher, current events or community

happenings. olumns are not considered news stories.

Types of newspaper stories

Factual

 * factual story is a report based strictly on facts. This type of story is the most common,

telling only what actually too) place, for instance at a meeting of city council, or how an

accident occurred and what resulted. %n this type of story a reporter fulfils hisJher prime

duty 7 writing only what is seen and heard, without injecting personal opinion or judgement. The As and < are strictly adhered to.

Promotional

This is material prepared with the objective of inducing the reader to support or endorse

a specific project or product. To illustrate, it could be an article urging the purchase of

government bonds, buying apples to aid the boy scout movement or donating money to

the 4nited Aay. 6ost often this type of material will be published in supplements

devoted to a particular topic. or e'ample, in the spring, many newspapers provide

wedding supplements. The pac)age is usually put together by the advertising

department with the stories provided by the advertisers andJor special contributors.

Interpretative

This story, also )nown as indepth reporting, e'plains the significance of some current

event, its historical bac)ground, how it compares with a similar situation in another

locality, and possibly how it may affect the future. *n e'ample would be a review of the

situation in %raq since its beginning, the current situation and possible developments.

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Features

eature articles are most often found in special sections and on section fronts. * feature

article will be one that has been the subject of a considerable amount of research,

interviews and analysis. %t will attempt to present an overview of the subject matter "for

e'ample, how to purchase a new automobile# give e'amples of what steps should and

should not be ta)en, and offer e'pert advice. eature stories are usually longer than

hard news stories and thus are usually found away from the general news pages.