Читать книгу Feature Writing and Reporting - Jennifer Brannock Cox - Страница 33

Organizations once had the luxury of providing a balanced diet of news for audiences, hoping they would read through stories about town council decisions and school improvements on their way to checking the sports scores or getting recipes. Now readers access the information they want directly online, often bypassing the local hard news. Journalists are made aware of what stories readers are talking about and sharing by looking at social media sites like Twitter and Reddit. Knowing what topics are trending with readers, journalists can pursue stories that will drive up traffic on their organizations’ sites.

But journalists are called to serve the public, giving readers information they need to make informed decisions about their lives and prompting them to think beyond fast and simple tidbits. Journalists have to strike a balance between giving online audiences news they want to read and avoiding pandering to their less impactful interests, which they can do by producing engaging news features. Some suggestions for writing meaningful feature stories that interest readers are:

 Select topics with relevance to readers. Think about what actually affects readers’ lives, and write stories examining that impact.

 Report public-affairs stories in different ways. Explore new avenues for reporting the story by getting involved and having community members share their experiences.

 Look for the human-interest angle. Don’t get lost in the minutes of a meeting; explore how the decisions impact average citizens and tell their stories.

 Use new tools and technologies to engage audiences. Technology has advanced beyond the printed word. Think of multiple ways to bring your stories to life.

 Put yourself out there. If audiences see that you are a human with real emotions, they might be more willing to connect with you and hear what you have to say.

Throughout this book, we will explore strategies for telling meaningful stories and connecting with audiences in engaging and informative ways through feature storytelling.