Part 1 (2/2)
Such articles, presenting interesting and tined to attract a class of readers that were not reached by the older literary periodicals Editors of newspapers and an to realize that there was no lack of interest on the part of the general public in scientific discoveries and inventions, in significant political and social azine articles on these themes, however, had usually been written by specialists who, as a rule, did not attempt to appeal to the ”man in the street,” but were satisfied to reach a lierpublic, editors undertook to develop a popular form and style that would furnish information as attractively as possible The perennial appeal of fiction gave theestion for the popularization of facts The methods of the short story, of the drama, and even of the eneral infor the attention of the casual reader
Daily newspapers had already discovered the advantage of giving the day's news in a forree of interest by the average one a step further in these atteive added attractiveness to news and had emphasized its melodramatic aspects
Other papers had seen the value of the ”hus It was not surprising, therefore, that Sunday editors of newspapers should undertake to apply to special articles the same methods that had proved successful in the treatment of news
The product of these efforts at popularization was the special feature article, with its story-like form, its touches of description, its ”human interest,” its dramatic situations, its character portrayal--all effectively used to furnish infore American”
DEFINITION OF A SPECIAL ARTICLE A special feature article may be defined as a detailed presentation of facts in an interesting for or infore person It usually deals with (1) recent news that is of sufficient importance to warrant elaboration; (2) timely or seasonal topics not directly connected with news; or (3) subjects of general interest that have no ih frequently concerned with news, the special feature article is more than a mere news story It aithe persons, places, and circumstances that appear in the news columns News h explanatory ible The special article, written with the perspective afforded by an interval of a few days or weeks, fills in the bare outlines of the hurried news sketch with the life and color that make the picture complete
The special feature article must not be confused with the type of news story called the ”feature,” or ”human interest,” story The latter undertakes to presentform Like the important news story, it is published immediately after the incident occurs Its purpose is to appeal to newspaper readers by bringing out the humorous and pathetic phases of events that have little real news value It exemplifies, therefore, merely one distinctive form of news report
The special feature article differs froazine article, not so much in subject as in form and style The most marked difference lies in the fact that it supplenized methods of literary and scientific exposition with thedevices of narrative, descriptive, and drae of subjects for special articles is as wide as hue and experience Any the to a considerable nueneral appeal If interest in it is likely to be limited to persons in the immediate vicinity of the place hich the subject is connected, the article is best adapted to publication in a local newspaper If the theer public, the article is adapted to a periodical of general circulation Often local material has interest for persons in many other communities, and hence is suitable either for newspapers or for azines
Soed in a particular occupation or devoted to a particular avocation or amusement Special articles on these subjects of liricultural, trade, or other class publications, particularly to such of these periodicals as present their material in a popular rather than a technical manner
THE NEWSPAPER FIELD Because of their number and their local character, daily newspapers afford a ready medium for the publication of special articles, or ”special feature stories,” as they are generally called in newspaper offices Some newspapers publish these articles froe or in other parts of the paper Many azine sections on Saturday or Sunday ely of such ”stories” Soazines in foreneral make-up
The articles published in newspapers come from three sources: (1) syndicates that furnish a number of newspapers in different cities with special articles, illustrations, and other matter, for simultaneous publication; (2) members of the newspaper's staff; that is, reporters, correspondents, editors, or special writers employed for the purpose; (3) so-called ”free-lance” writers, professional or aazine section
Reporters, correspondents, and other regular ned to write special feature stories, or may prepare such stories on their own initiative for subazine section In ular members of the staff are paid for special feature stories in addition to their salaries, especially when the subjects are not assigned to them and when the stories are prepared in the writer's own leisure tiular staff members to furnish the paper hatever articles they may write, as a part of the work covered by their salary If a paper has one or more special feature writers on its staff, it may pay them a fixed salary or may employ them ”on space”; that is, pay them at a fixed ”space rate” for the number of columns that an article fills when printed
Newspaper correspondents, who are usually paid at space rates for news stories, ,” or a special feature articles in addition to news They may also submit articles to other papers that do not compete with their own paper Ordinarily a newspaper expects a correspondent to give it the opportunity of printing any special feature stories that he ularly eazines as staff members, submit articles for the editor's consideration and are paid at space rates Sometimes a free lance will outline an article in a letter or in personal conference with an editor in order to get his approval before writing it, but, unless the editor knows the writer's work, he is not likely to promise to accept the coe in knowing that the subject as he outlines it is or is not an acceptable one If an editor likes the work of a free lance, he est subjects for articles, or iven subject Freelance writers, by selling their work at space rates, can often ular members of a newspaper staff
For the amateur the newspaper offers an excellent field First, in every city of any size there is at least one daily newspaper, and almost all these papers publish special feature stories Second, feature articles on local topics, the ht by enerally less critical of forazine editors With some practice an inexperienced writer may acquire sufficient skill to prepare an acceptable special feature story for publication in a local paper, and even if he is paid little or nothing for it, he will gain experience fro his work in print
The space rate paid for feature articles is usually proportionate to the size of the city in which the newspaper is published In ser places the rate is about 3 a coluest, froeneral the column rate for special feature stories is the same as that paid for news stories
WHAT NEWSPAPERS WANT Since timeliness is the keynote of the newspaper, current topics, either growing out of the news of the week or anticipating co events, furnish the subjects for most special feature stories The news columns from day to day provide room for only concise announcements of such news as a scientific discovery, an invention, the death of an interesting person, a report on social or industrial conditions, proposed legislation, the razing of a land Such news often arouses the reader's curiosity to know more of the persons, places, and circumstances mentioned In an effort to satisfy this curiosity, editors of azine sections print special feature stories based on news
By anticipating approaching events, an editor is able to supply articles that are timely for a particular issue of his paper Two classes of subjects that he usually looks forward to in this way are: first, those concerned with local, state, and national anniversaries; and second, those growing out of seasonal occasions, such as holidays, vacations, the opening of schools and colleges,and fishi+ng seasons
The general policy of a newspaper with regard to special feature stories is the sa news Both are determined by the character of its circulation A paper that is read largely by business and professional men provides news and special articles that satisfy such readers A paper that aims to reach the so-called masses naturally selects news and features that will appeal to them If a newspaper has a considerable circulation outside the city where it is published, the editors, in fra their policy, cannot afford to overlook their suburban and rural readers The character of its readers, in a word, determines the character of a paper's special feature stories
The newspaper is primarily local in character A city, a state, or at most a comparatively small section of the whole country, is its particular field Besides the news of its locality, it e So, too, in addition to local feature articles, it should furnish special feature stories of a broader scope This distinctively local character of newspapers differentiates theazines of national circulation in the matter of acceptable subjects for special articles
The frequency of publication of newspapers, as well as their ephemeral character, leads, in many instances, to the choice of coive readers entertaining matter hich to occupy their leisure at the end of a day's work or on Sunday, some papers print special feature stories on topics of little or no iht vein Articles with noreaders to while away a few spare moments are obviously better adapted to newspapers, which are read rapidly and immediately cast aside, than to periodicals
The sensationalism that characterizes the policy of soazine sections Gossip, scandal, and crime lend themselves to melodramatic treatment as readily in special feature articles as in news stories On the other hand, the relatively few azines that undertake to attract readers by sensationalism, usually do so by means of short stories and serials rather than by special articles
All newspapers, in short, use special feature stories on local topics, some papers print trivial ones, and others ”play up” sensational azine publishes articles of these types