Writing Feature Articles, 4th Edition

6    Subjects and treatments

Grasp the subject; the words will follow. (Cato the Elder, 234–149 BC)

You get a sharper insight into publications when you see how differently a particular subject is treated. There follows a list of subjects with mileage, indicating varied treatments, and making some comparisons among publications. Keep in mind that subjects and types and formulas and magazines are constantly changing to meet the demands of the time. To repeat: magazines are born to reflect new interests, and die when their remit is out of date.

Journalism is all about what you can find out rather than what you happen to know – what you can find out in what’s published or on the Internet or by the legwork of reporting, but also what’s in people’s ...