The centre of our efforts should be the "major radio feature" - that is the outstanding radio event, the excellent treatment of an important or "hot" issue, well placed in the overall composition of the programme. Listeners must be attracted by subjects of universal interest. By exceptional, unusual ideas. By visions, provocations. Intellectual events.

Topic + personality + competence might be formula to rescue feature from decline - from shipwreck.
This type of programme deserves appropriate publicity, for example by cross-promotion in other programmes of the radio station and in other media.
Major Features - the "big form" - must be supported by the political class. Documentaries deserve the framework of public radio - like demanding stage productions need the conditions and the support of subsidized theatres and opera houses.

That also means: to accept feature to be a minority programme (positively spoken: a programme made for opinion leaders and multipliers - a "relevant minority", as Octavio Paz used to call the readers of poetry). Feature programmes are not made for the community of radio-zappers. The interest of our listeners is conditional for our right to exist. (But that doesn't mean, that a minority must be very small and not able to grow !)

Last but not least: Every genre depends on the ability to develop, to change if necessary. The last major renewal of radio documentary, the invention of the Acoustic Feature (Berlin style), happened more than 30 years ago. Now we must react on the challenges of the new century with new convincing and rewarding designs.