In feature story reporting, curiosity is a personality trait, a motivation, and a skill

Journalism instruction has long assumed curiosity is integral to the work, but there has not been a systematic study that engages psychological or sociological curiosity theory in the journalistic process. Instead, it’s assumed that curiosity means the same thing to all people, that all journalists engage curiosity in similar ways. Journalism instruction and practice therefore suffers from a shallow understanding of how curiosity affects the stories produced. Drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews with U.S. feature journalists and editors, I found feature journalists use their sense of curiosity to explore possible story ideas on multiple levels. Through a qualitative analysis of these interviews, three themes emerged: curiosity as a personality trait, curiosity as a motivational force, and curiosity as a skill. The journalists self-identified as curious people and knew they used curiosity to find stories. However, the way they conceptualized curiosity, how and when they explored it, and with how much intensity differed per person and per story. Still, a throughline remained. Feature story reporting demands a specific kind of curiosity: a tool that can be articulated, practiced, and taught.