Writing Feature Articles: Print, Digital and Online

315 Pages·2019·36.547 MB·English

by  Mary Hogarth

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Writing Feature Articles

Writing Feature Articles presents clear and engaging advice for students and young
professionals on working as a freelance feature writer. This fifth edition not only
covers producing content for print, but also for digital platforms and online.
Mary Hogarth offers comprehensive guidance on every aspect of feature
writing, from having the initial idea and conducting market and subject research,
to choosing the right target audience and publishing platform and successfully
pitching the article. In addition, the book instructs students on developing their
own journalistic style and effectively structuring their feature. Each chapter then
concludes with an action plan to help students put what they have read into
practice.
Topics include:
• Life as a freelance
• Building a professional profile
• Telling a story with images
• Developing a specialism
• Interviewing skills
• Profile and interview articles
• Working in publicity and advertising
• A career in magazines and newspapers
• Getting published overseas
• Understanding issues in media law and regulation
The book also provides an extensive range of interviews with successful media
professionals, including a newspaper editor, a money, health and lifestyle
journalist, a copywriter and an award- winning columnist, where they share their
own experiences of working in the industry and offer invaluable tips on best
practice.
Mary Hogarth is an experienced educator, media specialist and writer, who was
previously Head of Features Journalism at Southampton Solent University before
joining Bournemouth University. Mary also runs a consultancy practice, The
Magazine Expert Ltd (www.themagazineexpert.com), specialising in advising on
new title launches, audience engagement, editorial development and developing
sustainable magazine business strategies.
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Writing Feature Articles

Print, Digital and Online
Fifth edition
Mary Hogarth
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Fifth edition published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Mary Hogarth
Law and ethics: a rough guide © David Mascord
A career in magazines and newspapers © Miriam Phillips
The right of Mary Hogarth, David Mascord and Miriam Phillips to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Heinemann 1989
Fourth edition published by Focal Press 2006
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Hogarth, Mary, 1968– author.
Title: Writing feature articles : print, digital and online / Mary Hogarth.
Description: Fifth edition. | London ; New York : Routledge, 2019. |
Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018054430|
ISBN 9781138238152 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138238169 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315298016 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Feature writing. | Journalism–Authorship.
Classification: LCC PN4784.F37 H64 2019 | DDC 808.06/607–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018054430
ISBN: 978- 1- 138- 23815- 2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 138- 23816- 9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 315- 29801- 6 (ebk)
Typeset in Goudy
by Newgen Publishing UK
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Contents

List of figures vii

List of tables viii

List of contributors ix

Foreword xi

Acknowledgements xiii

1 Introduction 1

2 Life as a freelance 9

3 Ideas are everywhere 20

4 Market research 39

5 How to pitch successfully 55

6 Turn ideas into articles 72

7 Research and interview techniques 91

8 A cohesive structure 114

9 How to develop a strong style 136

10 Images tell a story 151

11 Copywriting and PR 167

12 Specialist features, columns and reviews 181

13 Interviews vs profiles 212

14 Worldwide markets 233

15 A career in magazines and newspapers 243

MIRIAM PHILLIPS
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vi Contents
16 Law and ethics: a rough guide 252

DAVID MASCORD
17 Last word: an editor’s perspective, with Jonathan Telfer 261

Appendix 1: Example of a freelance workflow income spreadsheet 267

Appendix 2: NUJ Code of Conduct 268

Appendix 3: IPSO – Editors’ Code of Practice 269

Appendix 4: The Society of Authors’ Guide to Copyright and Permissions 275

Appendix 5: Syndicates, news and press cuttings agencies 284

References 286

Bibliography 291

Index 295
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Figures

3.1 Cover of Men’s Running 21
3.2 Six- step feature model 25
3.3 Mapping your ideas 26
4.1 Magazine facts 42
4.2 Food and Travel cover 44
5.1 Magazine hierarchy model 57
5.2 An article’s perceived value 60
5.3 Cover of Food and Travel 63
7.1 Five essential interview steps 97
8.1 An example of mapping sources to note headings 118
8.2 Three- stage map of a first draft 125
8.3 An interpretation of the inverted feature pyramid model 126
8.4 Writer’s Digest cover July/ August 2018 133
9.1 Vegan Living spread 146
10.1 Mapping a publication’s feature imagery 153
10.2 Five essential interview steps 161
10.3 National Geographic Traveller cover 164
10.4 National Geographic Traveller Namibia spread 165
11.1 Processing the five Ws 171
12.1 Words, sentences and structure grid 186
12.2 The reviewer’s map 200
13.1 Contact methods 215
17.1 Cover of Writing Magazine 262
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Tables

2.1 Example record of pitches sent 14
4.1 Categories of national newspapers 50
5.1 Targeting multiple publications using one theme 64
5.2 Example of a workflow chart 66
7.1 Feature summary of key research 102
8.1 A feature plan for membership model article 116
8.2 Turning a theme into a feature package 131
9.1 Analysis of writing styles 143
12.1 Four key themes of a column 195
12.2 The core components of a review 203
13.1 Summarising quotes 225
16.1 Main defences in the 2013 Defamation Act 254
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Contributors

Ann Luce is a Principal Academic in Journalism and
Communication at Bournemouth University where she
teaches Features and Digital Journalism. A journalist-
turned-academic, she now writes extensively on the
ethical and responsible reporting of suicide using digital
storytelling techniques.

Ann Luce
David Mascord has more than 25 years’ experience
in journalism, teaching, training and development.
During his career, he has been a staff and freelance
journalist writing about everything from beer to business
and weddings to widgets. He is a training consultant
specialising in media law, journalism and business
writing, and also lectures in Media Law and Journalism
at Bournemouth University and at Solent University,
Southampton.

David Mascord
Miriam Phillips is an editor, publisher and journalism
lecturer. Miriam trained as a newspaper reporter for
Newsquest working across daily papers in Dorset. She
specialised in crime, court and investigative reporting.
She has had a variety of roles for Trinity Mirror, Northcliffe
in London, writing for newspapers and setting up and
running hyperlocal news websites before returning to
Newsquest as a Chief Reporter.

In 2015, she set up Bright Daisy Publishing and launched
Miriam Phillips
a hyperlocal high- quality lifestyle magazine in Poundbury,