A feature is expected to give the background to the news, which includes analysis, explanation and discussion. It should document facts, possible anticipate developments. Perception is a great gift for a feature writer who wants to make his mark as a knowledgeable person. In fact the more of a specialist he is, the better are the feature writer’s change of selling his product.
A feature can be based on a news item. It is a new feature.
A feature can be on sports. It is a sports feature.
A feature becomes attractive to editors if it is (a) timely (b) written by an authority, (c) illustrated suitably. Magazines, especially, prefer features that can be richly illustrated.