human interest story

noun

A soft news story that is intended to evoke emotion, empathy, humour, inspiration, etc., in the audience.

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Meanings

nounhuman interest story (plural human interest stories)

plural human interest stories · alternative human-interest story

  1. journalismA soft news story that is intended to evoke emotion, empathy, humour, inspiration, etc., in the audience.

    Not more than a dozen persons showed up for his funeral. Among them was an earnest young reporter who hoped for a human-interest story; there were legends that the old man had been something of a gunfighter in the early days.

    1949, Dorothy M. Johnson, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 90
Cite this entry
APA

human interest story. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/human%20interest%20story

MLA

“human interest story.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/human%20interest%20story. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “human interest story,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/human%20interest%20story.

Source: human interest story on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.