Reading and understanding newspapers. Пыж А.М. - 34 стр.

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PART 3: READING OTHER TYPES OF ARTICLES

I. Reading Feature Articles

News stories are essentially “something happened” stories. They generally

begin with a short summary of the main facts in the headline and lead. Then the

body tells the story in greater detail. Since news stories come to the main point

so quickly, they seem to be in a hurry, written for readers who want to know

what happened NOW!

But in any newspaper you will find another kind of story known as the

feature. Feature stories tend to be longer than news stories, and they go into

their topics more deeply. They are also less hurried and they often deal with

subjects that are not found on the news pages. Instead of explaining what

happened, feature writers are more likely to tell us what an interesting person or

place is like, why a certain fashion or activity has become popular, or how we

can improve our health. So, unlike the news story, the feature story is not an

impersonal recounting of events. It may give background on an event or on a

person in the news. It may review a motion picture, a concert, an art exhibition,

it may give cooking recipes or it may describe a hobby, an unusual vacation

experience.

Short news items, which are unimportant as news but which have

emotional appeal, are called human interest stories.

The human interest story is not written in inverted-pyramid form, as is the

news story. The writer may use whatever form best conveys his ideas.

Sometimes in the case of an oddity or coincidence he may find a short story

technique most appropriate. He may want to begin with an eye-catching lead

then build up suspense and end with a surprise, at other times as in a critical

feature on a theatre production, he may want to develop each point separately:

plot, acting, setting, costumes.

The difference in the style and content of news stories and features is

obvious from a quick comparison. Look at the two stories below. You can tell

the difference from the first few paragraphs.