Figure 2-2.—Identifying dominant news elements.
Feature News
The feature news story is about an event or situation
that stirs the emotions or imagination. The event mayor
may not have taken place, or the situation may or may
not have arisen since the last issue of a periodical or
delivery of a newscast. The feature story is designed
primarily to entertain, but it also serves to create interest
or to inform the reader. It may be about such subjects as
a sailor with the unusual hobby of collecting 18th-
century etchings, a command that has adopted a stray
goat as a mascot, a Navy cook who worked in a leading
French restaurant before enlisting or, in a serious vein,
the plight of a child who has been orphaned by an
automobile accident.
Sports News
The sports news story may be handled as either hard
news or a feature. These stories chronicle the activities
accomplishments of sports figures. In most cases of
Navy sports, unless teams are prominent (such as that
of the U.S. Naval Academy), the material is aimed at
ship and station publications.
Social News
The social story, which may also be handled as
either hard news or as a feature, primarily concerns
wives; daughters and family activities. Most often Navy
social stories deal with the activities of officers and
enlisted wives’ clubs, the happenings of the teen-age set,
weddings and local charity events.
Other Categories
Other categories of stories frequently used in
metropolitan newspapers include interpretive, science,
consumer and financial.
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