What's The Difference Between Fronline Journals, Op-Eds and Feature Stories?

Dear Correspondents,

In our conference call, the question came up "What's the difference between frontline journals, op-eds and feature stories?". This is a great question!

Your frontline journals were first-person accounts about living on the frontline of breaking news stories. We asked you to write about your personal experience on an issue that was important to you.

Your op-es were primarily your opinions about an issue important to you. It was suggested that you provide 3 pieces of evidence to support your opinion--and one of those pieces of evidence could be your own experience. However, this was not required.

In your feature stories, you need to take the personal experience and opinion out of your writing. You should still write about an issue that matters to you, but again, you are taking the personal out of your writing. You should be giving the context (history) of the issue you're talking about, why it is important now and what solutions are out there. It should follow the same outline as your frontline journal (intro, nutgraph, conclusion, etc.).

One last point to remember--it is not only your safety and security at stake, but the safety and security of the people you interview and use as sources for your writing. Make sure to consider their well-being and always, if they request it, give anonymity to your sources.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Rachael