feature story

American  

noun

1. a newspaper or magazine article or report of a person, event, an aspect of a major event, or the like, often having a personal slant and written in an individual style.

2. the main or most prominent story in a magazine.

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Usage

What is a feature story? A feature story is a factual story that is not hard news but is instead a more personal report about a person, event, or aspect of a major event. Feature stories typically appear as articles in newspapers, magazines, and other publications, but they are also frequently featured in other media, such as TV, radio, and podcasts. Feature stories are distinguished from hard news stories, which are straightforward, factual accounts of important happenings or events—just the facts. Feature stories often involve elements of hard news, but they are intended to give readers more descriptions and details. Feature stories are often just called features. One common type of feature story is a human-interest story. Much less commonly, the term feature story refers to the main or featured article of a publication. Feature stories provide readers with information that they might not need to know but that they (hopefully) want to know. Perhaps the most common examples of feature stories are profiles of notable figures or average people, but there are many kinds.

Etymology

Origin of feature story

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

In 2016, he and his colleagues won Association for Women in Communications' Clarion Award for their feature story titled, "Death on India's Highway 66."

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

These pioneering techniques might change the grim calculus of organ transplants in a way that no previous advances could, she writes in her feature story this month.

From Scientific American • Oct. 17, 2023

Thrall initially wrote about the accident as a feature story for the New York Review of Books in 2021, but with a different goal.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2023

I was at the scene shooting a feature story in Manchester, and I did not think this peaceful protest could be escalated to clashes with people from the Chinese consulate.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2022

The New Jersey Star-Ledger, the state newspaper, wrote a long feature story on me, as an Olympic hopeful.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad