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.Like generating any good story idea, as you remember from the chapter on developing story ideas, a good seasonal feature must be the product of thorough looking around, extensive talking to lots of people, and careful listening.It also takes thinking and an ability to put things to­Page 218gether.This approach results in some solid article idea leads that could develop into that story you wanted for this year.Of course, there are times when a very old idea works for a seasonal article.There are times when an idea or theme has not been used for years, or at least, it has not been used as the basis of an article.More than 20 years ago, what is now a classic seasonal"what­if" feature story idea was generated.Reporters for the Florida Times­Union in Jacksonville were sitting in their newsroom at Christmas time, a traditionally slow news period, trying to come up with a good Christmas Day page one feature for their readers.Reporter Jerry Teer (1973) wondered if it might be fun to see if the true Christmas spirit still existed in Jacksonville."Do people really believe all this Christmas stuff?" he asked."And if they do, how deeply do they believe it?" To find this out, he asked the managing editor: "What if I wrote a story about what happens when myself and a pregnant woman, apparently my wife, visit inns around the city on Christmas Eve in search of a room?" (p.24).With his editor's okay, he asked a young female friend to join him as the two went from motel to motel looking for a place to stay for the night.They looked a bit ragged, wearing old clothes and carrying their belongings in a duffel bag.They told innkeepers they had no money and, with the help of a pillow, Teer's friend was dressed to appear pregnant.This modern­day version of the Biblical story of Joseph and Mary on Christmas Eve was a widely read feature in the newspaper the next day.Although he hoped to find one Good Samaritan, Teer and his friend found no free rooms among the 15 ''inns" they visited.This angle, far more interesting than a story about leftover Christmas trees, demonstrates what is meant by a fresh angle on an annual season or holiday assignment.In another highly creative Christmas holiday feature, Denver­area feature writer Robin Chotzinoff (1991) decided to turn an ordinary holiday story about store Santas into something more.She used her storytelling and research skills to produce a witty, fun­to­read seasonal feature.She consumer­tested Santa Clauses.A writer for the weekly alternative publication Westword for nearly a decade, Chotzinoff wrote a feature highlighting the holiday season by "testing" Santa Clauses at Denver­area shopping areas such as malls.Conducting the test in early December, the story ran during the following week—in plenty of time for shoppers to take advantage of her discoveries.She used her 7­year­old nephew as the "official tester" and proceeded to rate Santas at 10 different locations over a 3­day period on several levels (e.g., setting, handout "loot," additional fun nearby, and the appearance and general quality, or realism, of the Santa).Page 219Working with her nephew, she recounted the conversations Santa had with the boy and other important details that contributed to a holiday atmosphere.When the article was published, it included ratings of the Santas and concluded that the best Santa of that season was one who told the boy about the meaning of Christmas, about loving and caring for people, and that he was the most sincere and honest Santa of all those visited.She explained: Both Nick and I were surprised at how exhausting such a light­hearted story turned out to be—we drove almost three hundred miles, were accosted by countless mall­survey takers and ate way too much junk.Also, I realized that the breathless Christmas feeling I experienced as a child—an entirely non­religious feeling, I might add—was entirely foreign to Nick and others of his generation.This made me sad.On the other hand, watching a seven­year­old begin to understand the breathless feeling of writing made me very happy.All in all, the Santa survey made no lasting impression on mankind, or did I expect it to.It did impress upon me, however, the importance of presenting a child's point of view as no more or less valid than that of any other source.(Chotzinoff, 1991, n.p.)HOLIDAY AND SEASONAL ARTICLES CALENDARJanuaryNew Year's Day (1st)Martin Luther King's birthday (15th, officially, it varies)FebruaryNational Freedom Day (1st)Groundhog Day (2nd)Constitution Day (Mexico, 5th)Abraham Lincoln's birthday (12th)St.Valentine's Day (14th)Susan B.Anthony birthday, also Women's Liberation Day (15th)George Washington's birthday (3rd Monday)Ash Wednesday (varies)Mardi Gras (varies)MarchBaseball training season opens (varies)St.Patrick's Day (17th)First day of spring (21st)Mardi Gras (varies)Palm Sunday (varies)Good Friday (varies)Easter (varies)Page 220AprilApril Fool's Day (1st)Palm Sunday (varies)Good Friday (varies)First day of Passover (varies)Pan American Day (14th)National Secretary Week (3rd week)Easter Sunday (varies)Easter Monday (Canada, varies)Arbor Day, Bird Day (last Friday)Daylight Savings Time begins (varies)MayMay Day, also Labor Day (Mexico, 1st)Loyalty Day (1st)Mother's Day (2nd Sunday)Victoria Day (Canada, varies)End of school yearCollege, high school graduation (varies)Armed Forces Day (3rd Saturday)National Maritime Day (22nd)Memorial Day (last Monday)Traditional Memorial Day (30th)JuneEnd of school year (varies)Summer vacation season beginsCollege, high school graduation (varies)National Smile Week (varies)Flag Day (14th)Father's Day (3rd Sunday)First day of Summer (21st)JulyCanada Day (1st)U.S.Independence Day (4th)AugustCivic holiday (Canada, varies)Ecology Day (varies)National Aviation Day (19th)SeptemberLabor Day (U.S [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]