Further research on Media and Journalism
While searching for books related to my progression route on the DMU library I came across "Feature and Narrative Storytelling for Multimedia Journalists" by Duy Linh Tu.
This book focuses on the techniques of multimedia and documentary production used by journalists.
In part 3 of the book, the author explains the use of the inverted pyramid in journalism and how this technique is not suitable for a narrative writing or feature article. In the inverted pyramid, the first part is regarding the most important information, followed by other details and ending with the background. "For news or alerts, readers want the most important information immediately, right at the top of the story." (Tu, 2015, p198). On the other hand, feature or narrative writing do not have the most relevant information at the beginning. As (Tu, 2015) suggests feature videos and narrative documentaries build up a climax. "When watching a feature video story, viewers must stay to the end of the story to get all the pertinent information."(Tu, 2015, p198).
The author then shows an example of a fairy tale that has the characteristics of a feature story, which are usually a main character, conflict and the resolution depending on the topic. He shows the version of the story written following the inverted pyramid technique, and emphasizes on how the story still shows the information but lacks "tension, suspense, and drama". (Tu, 2015, p198).
This article published by the Independent (Associated press reporters, 2019) shows a clear example of the usage of the inverted pyramid technique. As demonstrated, the most important information is held at the top. What happened, where it happened and when it happened are the main points when reporting on a breaking news.
The structure of a feature article is shown within this article published by The Guardian (Cartner-Morely, 2020).The article beings by introducing a background to the story to let the reader knows what it talks about. The introduction is written in a way that targets the audience's curiosity making them want to read more.
The conclusion can vary depending on the topic but they always tend to end in facts or experiences. Feature news articles may include the writer's opinion or experiences but they have to careful not to be biased or one-sided.
Most feature articles end with a quote that restates the idea of the paper, including this one.
This book is very informative for students that wish to become journalists and in my opinion it offers very clear explanations and examples. This chapter talks about more than just the difference in writing between breaking news and feature articles, it also covers mobile photography and reporting. I decided to discuss this section within the chapter as it relates to my major project and I can look back at it if I need advice.
Sources:
ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTERS, (2019) Dozens of people injured in a 69 -car pile-up on busy road. The Independent. [Online] 23rd Dec. Available from:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/car-crash-virginia-pile-up-williamsburg-interstate-64-a9257726.html [13/02/20]
MORLEY. C, J (2020) Marc Jacob mixes mid-century poise with neon pandemonium. The Guardian. [Online] 13th Feb. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/feb/13/marc-jacobs-mixes-mid-century-poise-with-neon-pandemonium [13/02/20]
Tu, Duy Linh. Feature and Narrative Storytelling for Multimedia Journalists, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/dmu/detail.action?docID=1924482.
This book focuses on the techniques of multimedia and documentary production used by journalists.
In part 3 of the book, the author explains the use of the inverted pyramid in journalism and how this technique is not suitable for a narrative writing or feature article. In the inverted pyramid, the first part is regarding the most important information, followed by other details and ending with the background. "For news or alerts, readers want the most important information immediately, right at the top of the story." (Tu, 2015, p198). On the other hand, feature or narrative writing do not have the most relevant information at the beginning. As (Tu, 2015) suggests feature videos and narrative documentaries build up a climax. "When watching a feature video story, viewers must stay to the end of the story to get all the pertinent information."(Tu, 2015, p198).
The author then shows an example of a fairy tale that has the characteristics of a feature story, which are usually a main character, conflict and the resolution depending on the topic. He shows the version of the story written following the inverted pyramid technique, and emphasizes on how the story still shows the information but lacks "tension, suspense, and drama". (Tu, 2015, p198).
This article published by the Independent (Associated press reporters, 2019) shows a clear example of the usage of the inverted pyramid technique. As demonstrated, the most important information is held at the top. What happened, where it happened and when it happened are the main points when reporting on a breaking news.
- The article then introduces the least relevant information and that might involve witness reports. This information is not useless, but it is not the main thing that the audience want to see at the beginning of the article.
The structure of a feature article is shown within this article published by The Guardian (Cartner-Morely, 2020).The article beings by introducing a background to the story to let the reader knows what it talks about. The introduction is written in a way that targets the audience's curiosity making them want to read more.
Instead of providing the main events happening in the fashion show at the beginning, the article follows a narrative pattern revealing the events paragraph by paragraph. If this article used the inverted pyramid technique, the writing would not sound creative and the audience will probably stop reading after the third line. Feature writing aims to create strong feelings, either positive or negative, within their audience.
The conclusion can vary depending on the topic but they always tend to end in facts or experiences. Feature news articles may include the writer's opinion or experiences but they have to careful not to be biased or one-sided.
Most feature articles end with a quote that restates the idea of the paper, including this one.
This book is very informative for students that wish to become journalists and in my opinion it offers very clear explanations and examples. This chapter talks about more than just the difference in writing between breaking news and feature articles, it also covers mobile photography and reporting. I decided to discuss this section within the chapter as it relates to my major project and I can look back at it if I need advice.
Sources:
ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTERS, (2019) Dozens of people injured in a 69 -car pile-up on busy road. The Independent. [Online] 23rd Dec. Available from:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/car-crash-virginia-pile-up-williamsburg-interstate-64-a9257726.html [13/02/20]
MORLEY. C, J (2020) Marc Jacob mixes mid-century poise with neon pandemonium. The Guardian. [Online] 13th Feb. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/feb/13/marc-jacobs-mixes-mid-century-poise-with-neon-pandemonium [13/02/20]
This is a good start with further research for your major project. Well done on using the library catalogue and using academic sources to inform our work. Perhaps you could develop this further by providing examples of news articles that use the inverted pyramid and examples of feature news articles. You can add screenshots of the articles with the source underneath.
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