JOURNALISM
50 - Feature and Magazine Writing
Spring 2002
T,Th 9:35 - 11:00
122 Dempster Hall
Carol
Fletcher
Office: Room 313 Dempster Hall
Office Hours: M, W 9:30 - 11:30
and by appointment
Phone: (516) 463-6464
E-mail: Carol T. Fletcher@hofstra.edu
Fax: (516) 625-3897
In
his manifesto on New Journalism, Tom Wolfe contends that feature writing
has replaced the novel as the most important literary form in America.
In this course you will read some of the best non-fiction writers of
our time -- John McPhee, Bertrand Roueche, Joan Didion and others --
and try your hand at one of the most difficult and exciting forms of
journalism. Prepare to work hard. (This course is very time-consuming.)
Prepare to be challenged. If you stick with it, you will have the pleasure
of watching your reporting and writing blossom over the course of the
semester.
We
will use the first few weeks of the course to get oriented. We'll discuss
what features are and talk about ways to come up with story ideas. We'll
read a basic textbook on feature writing, as well as Jon Franklin's
Writing for Story, which examines the basic principles of narrative
style.
For
the next few weeks, we will look closely at the structure of features
and experiment with some writing techniques used in these stories.
The
focus, at first, will be on newsfeatures. Later in the semester, we
will look at other types of features: medical mysteries, travel articles,
reviews, and profiles.
Throughout
the course we will read lots of features and analyze the merits of each.
How was the piece structured? What conflict carries the narrative? How
was background information woven into the story? How are such literary
devices as foreshadowing and compression used to add impact?
At
first, I will provide the articles for discussion. As time goes on,
you will bring articles you have discovered.
You
will write five features during the semester: a newsfeature on a controversy
or trend (1250 words), an editorial or first-person piece (1000 words),
a review (750 words), a narrative or profile (1500 words), and a service
or travel article (1000 words). (Although there is no assignment specifically
devoted to sports writing, students may choose sports topics for any
of their features. Students may not write all their stories on sports,
however.) We will spend a great deal of class time discussing what is
expected from each of these features.
The
backbone of any marketable feature is an original, well-focused story
idea. You will be expected to keep an ideas folder, which will be checked
every Tuesday. We will work on cultivating ideas that are fresh and
surprising - on pursuing features that expose you, and the reader, to
unfamiliar ideas, places, and cultures. About three weeks before each
feature is due, we will have an in-class story conference. You must
arrive at this conference with story ideas. Students will share their
ideas and discuss which are most likely to work.
About
a week before each feature is due, we will have an editing conference.
YOU MUST BRING A ROUGH DRAFT OF YOUR FEATURE TO THIS CLASS. Your rough
draft should be your best work and will be graded. At the editing conference,
students will help each other revise. Early in the semester I will share
my thoughts on the best way to help your colleagues at these conferences.
I will also provide feedback on all rough drafts.
Deadlines
You
must hand in all features on the due dates. Emergencies happen
-- students get sick and sources go out of town -- so start working
on your features well in advance of deadlines. Any feature handed in
one class late, for any reason, will be marked down a full point. Any
feature handed in more than one class late will receive an F.
Effort
I
love feature writing. I have devoted my professional life to it. I am
hoping this course will be fun. You'll have a chance to pursue passions,
interview intriguing people, and flex your writing muscles.
I
also take this class seriously. It will involve a lot of work outside
of class. Features require in-depth reporting. You will have to conduct
many substantial, in-person interviews. (Please see Addendum: Minimal
requirements for features.) If you do not have the time, courage or
desire to interview a lot of people you have never met, you cannot succeed
in this course. With each feature, you must submit a list of five or
more checkable sources and their telephone numbers. No feature will
be accepted without a source list and fact-checking material.
Integrity
As
in any journalism course, your work must be accurate and original. Major
mistakes in a story (misquoting or misspelling the name of a central
figure, for instance) will result in an F on the assignment. Making
up quotes or information, or plagiarizing, will result in an F for the
course. You must save all notes and tapes from your reporting.
Many
students who take this class also write for The Chronicle and other
publications. If you have written a story for publication or for another
class, and want to pursue the topic in greater depth for this course,
you must get my approval in advance.
Required
reading
Please come to class having read the assignment for that day.
In addition to features I will make available by electronic reserve
during the semester, you are required to read the following:
Evans, Harold, ed. The Best American Magazine Writing 2001.
This selection, from the American Society of Magazine Editor, includes
features that wonNational Magazine Awards, the magazine industry's equivalent
of the Pulitzers.
Jon Franklin, Writing for Story. This is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
writer's formula for producing compelling features. The book suggests
there is only one way to write a feature, when in fact there are many.
But it will give you valuable tips for getting started. And it will
convince you that structure is the foundation of feature writing.
You must also read The New Yorker every week and an appropriate
newspaper (The New York Times, Newsday, or The Wall
Street Journal) every day. You will not be able to generate
good story ideas consistently or write intelligently about public matters
unless you read at least one (and preferably more) newspapers regularly.
Beginning the third week of the semester, we will have periodic pop
quizzes on the news and current contents of The New Yorker.
You are expected to read other magazines as well. The only way to become
a strong writer is to read widely.
You will also need an AP Style Guide, a good dictionary
and a thesaurus. We will follow Associated Press style. If you do not
know how to use the style guide, please see me.
Grades
First newsfeature (controvery or trend): Rough: 10% Final: 10%
First person or editorial: 10%
Review: 10%
Narrative article or profile: Rough: 10% Final: 10%
Service or travel: 10%
In-class presentations and ideas folder: 10%
Quizzes: 10%
Participation and evidence of effort: 10%
Tu
Jan29: Introduction to course. Brief history of feature writing.
Refresher on lab, submitting papers electronically, and electronic
reserve.
Magazines you should be reading. Sign-up for presentations.
|
Th
Jan 31: What is feature writing? Why write features? Elements
of successful
features: conflict, narrative, human interest. Ideas: where they
come from and why they matter.
Reading: Christgau (reserve), Evans tba.
|
Tu
Feb 5: Check ideas folder.
Story conference for first newsfeature: COME WITH IDEAS!
Reading: Evans tba.
|
Th
Feb 7: Refresher on Nexis. Depth reporting.
Reading: Evans tba
|
Tu
Feb 12: Structuring features. Billboards. Progress reports on
first feature.
Reading: Various Time and Newsweek stories; Voll (reserve)
|
Th
Feb 14: Leads and endings. Writing tips.
Preview: Profiles - why do them, three types, choosing a subject
Exercise: defining character through action
Reading: Evans tba; Scanlan (reserve)
|
Th
Feb 21: Editing conference for newsfeature: BRING ROUGHS!
About editing conferences and working with editors.
Story conference for first person: BRING IDEAS!
Reading: "Madness Visible" (reserve)
|
Tu
Feb 26: Rough of newsfeature returned.
First person: why to avoid it; when it works; voice.
Reading: Dickinson, Vecsey (reserve),
|
Th
Feb 28:
Final newsfeature due.
Editorials. About upcoming presentations.
Reading: Pitts, Griego Erwin, other editorials (reserve) |
Tu
Mar 5: Quiz on Evans.
Roughs of first person - optional
Restaurant and book reviews.
Story conference for reviews: BRING IDEAS!
Reading: Bring last Sunday's book review section of Times to class |
Th
Mar 7: First person article due.
Introduction to narrative form.
Reading: Franklin Ch 1-3
|
Tu
Mar 12: Conflict, narrative tension, and foreshadowing. "Mrs.
Kelly's Monster"
Review due.
Story conference on profiles: BRING IDEAS
Reading: Franklin Ch 4-6 Appendix A
|
Th
Mar 14: Student presentations.
Discuss first newsfeatures.
Reading: Franklin Ch 7 - 9, Tilley "Suicide.." (reserve)
|
Tu
Mar 19: Progress report on profile - focus
Franklin quiz.
Exercise: dialog
Reading: Evans tba; Quill (reserve)
|
Th
Mar 21: Student presentations.
Structuring the profile
Reading: Steinbach (reserve)
|
Tu
Apr 2: Student presentations.
Possibilities in narrative stories.
Progress reports on profiles.
Reading: Remmick (reserve).
|
Th
Apr 4: Discuss first-person articles.and editorials.
Student presentations.
Editing, Part I
Reading: Evans tba,
|
Tu
Apr 9: Editing conference for profiles: BRING ROUGHS. |
Th
Apr 11: Rough of profiles handed back..
Exercise in "show not tell" - Man on the Bus
Student presentations.
|
Tu
Apr 16: Final profiles due.
Travel articles.
Reading: McPhee (reserve); pls. bring Times travel section
|
Th
Apr 18: Student presentations.
Story conference for service article.
Medical mysteries and detective stories.
Reading: Roueche (reserve) |
Tu
Apr 23: Student presentations.
Editing, Part II.
Topic sentences vs. punch lines. Pacing.
Reading: From student presentations |
Th
Apr 25: Trends in feature writing. Specialty press.
Reading: From classmates. |
Tu
Apr 30: New Journalism. Convergence and e-zines.
Reading: Angels (reserve) |
Th
May 2: Heds and deks. Fact-checking system. Discuss profiles.
Service article due.
|
Tu
May 7: Queries, freelancing, contracts.
Market reports due.
Last day to hand in any revisions.
|
|
|
Revisions
and publication
You
are permitted to revise up to two of your articles during the semester.
The final grade for each feature will be an average of the original
grade and the revised grade.
Articles
that are well-reported and gracefully written may be published in
The Communicator, so that students can develop their portfolio of clips.
Students are encouraged to choose story ideas appropriate for The Communicator.
Students are also encouraged to submit their best articles to outside
publications. We will discuss how to write queries and target articles.
Attendance
Attendance
is mandatory and will be taken daily. Students are permitted to miss
one class per semester without an excuse. Any additional absences --
except with a doctor's note for each day missed -- will result in the
grade being lowered a full point. Arriving to class more than 5 minutes
late is considered an absence. Missing class is not an excuse for handing
in work late.
Save
these dates
Each semester, the Department of Journalism and Mass Media Studies invites
two prominent journalists to speak to majors during Common Hour as part
of the Distinguished Lecturers Program. You are required to attend these
lectures. This Spring, the lectures will take place on Wednesday,
February 20, and Wednesday, April 17. Please mark your calendars.