The Feature Article

A "feature" is an article with a human-interest angle. Its purpose goes beyond news and information. A feature engages its readers in the story of people or of a single person behind a newsworthy event. This means that well-written features are meant to arouse emotions. The writer might accomplish this through humor, for instance, or by conveying the emotions of the people involved in the event…The way you write a feature can depart from strict journalistic writing and may borrow techniques from fiction.

Elizabeth Lyon, A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction, 2003