Writing Feature Stories: How to Research and Write Newspaper and Magazine Articles [Paperback]

Matthew Ricketson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1865087327 | ISBN-13: 978-1865087320

A systematic and user-friendly approach to journalistic feature story writing for journalism students, professionals, freelancers, and beginners is provided in this guide. Writers will learn to move beyond conventional news stories and embrace their creativity to create compelling features. Generating fresh ideas, gathering factual information, sifting through raw material, choosing the best angle, and working with editors are all explored. Discussion questions and exercises reinforce the ideas presented in each chapter. Pop culture examples and recently published articles are used to make concepts memorable and easily accessible.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It’s a valuable, concise guide for feature writers." -- The Writer

"Ricketson has . . . distill[ed] essentials of the craft into a practical text equally valuable to the learner and the practicing professional." -- Andrew Rule, Walkley Award–winning journalist

About the Author

Matthew Ricketson is the head of journalism at RMIT University. He has written for The Age, The Australian, and Time. He is the winner of a United Nations Media Peace Prize citation and the George Munster prize for best freelance journalism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1865087327
• ISBN-13: 978-1865087320
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars worthwhile, but also worth knowing the following, November 18, 2007

By 

iWriter "Lingualect" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing Feature Stories: How to Research and Write Newspaper and Magazine Articles (Paperback)

This book will tell you a lot of what you need to know about writing feature articles. But what I didn't know when I purchased it on Amazon was that it's geared toward the AUSTRALIAN market, which he refers to regularly in the book. Also, most of the examples of writing that he provides, the language and cultural references are of Australia, making it a bit harder to follow for a North American English speaker. If you are not interested in writing for the Australian market, you can be better served by another book. One thing that was missing was the lack of attention given to the distinct writing styles for newspapers and magazines. Considering the title is "how to research and write newspaper and magazine articles," one would imagine that the author would address the differences between the two.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, November 24, 2007

By 

Chelsea Webster-knife (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writing Feature Stories: How to Research and Write Newspaper and Magazine Articles (Paperback)

This is a comprehensive book which covers every aspect of feature writing. It provides many examples along the way to highlight good and poor writing. It is obvious why this fantastic book is used by many Australian universities.

3.0 out of 5 stars Made it half way through., July 21, 2010

By 

R. F. Rynkowski "AdobePhoto.net" (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Writing Feature Stories: How to Research and Write Newspaper and Magazine Articles (Paperback)

I've tried several times to pick this book up again to finish reading it, but can't seem to get into it. I might recommend others first, but that may be just me?