198 / Types of Writing
saMPle feature article
Compare this feature news article with the sample in Chapter 30, News Article, to
note the differences between a news article and a feature article.
Community Grows as Karson Grows
Together, the employer and the employees pay over a million dollars each year in state and
local taxes. Together, they provide materials for about one-fourth of the automobiles produced
in the United States. Together, they have showered stockholders with over a half-million dollars
in dividends in the past five years. Together, they make up Karson Manufacturing, the area’s
largest employer.
Karson Manufacturing began as a garage operation when, in 1952, the late Rodney Karson
started machining parts for local businesses. As business expanded, he moved to the cur-
rent location on Oak Road. But the site was hardly the same then as today. Photographs in
the 1962 edition of the Daily News show the company as little more than a series of one-story
brick buildings, obviously added as needed. Not until 1983 did the present facility begin to take
shape. Additions in 1998 and 2003 resulted in the current facility.
George Hatman, vice-president of manufacturing, began with the company in 1958. “I still
remember my interview with Mr. Rodney Karson. He wore a blue work shirt, sleeves rolled up,
with black suspenders holding up his work pants. He looked like all the rest of the workers
except for his hat. He wore this funny felt bowler with a red hat band. Usually he kept a pencil
stuck in the hat band. Don’t know why. Never saw him use it. But that’s the way he showed up
for the interview. Funny, but I’d worn my best suit. Thought I should try to impress him.
“We didn’t talk long. Asked me a few questions about experience. I didn’t have any but I was
willing to work. So you know what he said? He said, ‘Well, get yourself home, son, and put on
some work clothes. Come back this afternoon and we’ll see what you’re made of.’ That’s what I
did. And I’m still here.”
Hatman believes that Karson’s philosophy made the company what it is today. “He figured
if you wanted to work, you were a good man to have on the team. And that’s what we have
here—a team. We all pull together, work together, make decisions together, show success
together. It’s a heck of a team to be on!”
And together, the Karson team today announced a six-million-dollar expansion. As a result, the
local community as well as Karson will grow. Together.ANALYSIS of THE SAMPLE
As a feature article, the sample above includes the characteristics that make it a sat-
isfactory representation. Note the following specific details: