Whither the future of feature writing?

Historically feature writers occupied a privileged, often protected, position in a newsroom. While news reporters were required to produce copy to a tight deadline, the feature writer had the luxury of time in which to craft a well-researched and argued piece. Today, that is rarely the case. Feature writers are no longer inured from every day newsroom pressures. They're expected to produce news as well as features, a reality which has contributed to a decline in the quality of longer form journalism. While technology has promoted greater interactivity among writer and audience, or content producer and audience in the case of online features, the focus and scope of features has changed immeasurably.