The first question that came to mind before I set out to prepare for writing this textbook was why it was needed. Long a staple of newspaper and magazine writing, feature writing is far from a novel genre and many textbooks have been written on the subject. I myself have used and referred to several well�瞱ritten textbooks in the course of my teaching. These textbooks approach feature writing from different perspectives, but they all cover the topic comprehensively and each provides a unique and effective roadmap for learning. Hence the question arises: why a new one is needed?
The answer lies in the fact that while there are many textbooks around, few have been written from a Chinese perspective and for Chinese students learning the craft. Writing English�瞝anguage feature stories for an international audience is quite different from reporting for the domestic market. In this sense, feature writing falls within international reporting and international communication. Therefore, in addition to discussing the basics of the genre, I intend the book to examine the specific requirements concerning Chinese international reporting. These requirements affect all important editorial decisions throughout the process of reporting and writing feature articles, from finding the right story idea to writing the final draft. The so�瞔alled sense of news, i.e., the judgement of what is important and what is not, also shifts when the target audience changes from at home to abroad. International reporting is supposed to be across borders not just physical but also cultural. From a technical perspective, the inevitable translation between Chinese and English and all the problems that may arise during the process have to be taken into account and handled with principled care. Moreover, on many occasions a feature writer aiming for the international audience has to consider how to reconcile her needs with those of her audience. The fine line is between the need of effectively telling China�餾 stories to the world and that of meeting the often capricious interest of an obscure international readership. This challenge must be met with both tact and tactics, as there is an important distinction between pandering to the interests of readers and serving their needs. Another major concern of feature writers is how to make reading their stories a rewarding experience for readers, as it is impractical and unrealistic to force any audience to accept one�餾 message amid the digital information overloading, not to mention an audience that is ambiguous and foreign. This concern requires feature writers to master and hone their craft every way they can; to compete in the sea of information, the very least they can do is to work hard to be good storytellers. This book will therefore explore the reporting and writing of feature articles within the framework of Chinese international reporting, dissect the thought that goes into customizing the feature stories for a culturally different audience, and offer possible solutions to problems in this crucial communication we call telling China�餾 story to the world.
This book contains ten chapters that track and outline both the reporting and writing process. The first chapter introduces the definition and characteristics of feature writing and discusses the genre in the context of international communication in the digital age. The next three chapters discuss the reporting process in its natural order: how to find and form an idea for a feature story, how to research that idea and how to conduct an interview. For chapter five and six, the book turns to the writing process, with chapter five focusing on leads and chapter six on story organization at length. Then, three more chapters (seven, eight and nine) move from a general discussion of how to cover and write feature stories (mainly news features) to an analysis of three specific types of feature stories: profiles, travel stories and reviews. The final chapter (the tenth one) presents a reporting and writing experiment involving my own class at the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai International Studies University and the Songjiang Convergence Media Center.This experiment involved writing features on suburban Shanghai for international audiences; many of the lessons my students and I learned in the process coincide with the key points raised in the first few chapters of the book. A careful examination of the knowledge and experience we gained seems to be a proper ending to conclude this book.
Special thanks to Shanghai Daily, The Sixth Tone, ShanghaiEye, and China Daily. All of the feature articles cited and analyzed in the book come from the English�瞝anguage media in China, including China Daily, Shanghai Daily, Sixth Tone, and ShanghaiEye, where journalists and editors work diligently day in and day out to make China�餾 voice heard around the world. ……