What do the terms ‘hard news’ and ‘soft news’ refer to? Anyone who is preparing for a career in journalism will need a strong understanding of the importance and key differences of these types of news reporting, so let’s look at what they are and how they differ.
What is hard news?
‘Hard news’ refers to the reporting of recent and important events. Hard news stories are not necessarily negative but are of significant interest to the public. It often relates to politics, accidents, incidents, weather events, international affairs, economy, crime, science, trade, and technology. The first few pages of a newspaper or the main headline items of a broadcast news report are typically made up of hard news stories. Hard news tends to be timely or urgent, relating to events that are very recent.
What is soft news?
‘Soft news’ stories tend to be lighter and less important, but are still of interest to readers, listeners, and viewers. Soft news often blurs the lines between news and entertainment. Soft news stories include personal interest, pets, funny events, celebrities, entertainment, and the arts. Soft news stories often come at the end of the main news bulletin and are rarely found on the front page of serious newspapers; however, it is typical for news outlets to give a bit more weight to soft news during summer in the UK when parliament is in recess, which is known as ‘silly season’.
Other types of news reporting
You may also hear about other types of news reporting that don’t necessarily fall into hard or soft categories, such as sports reporting, editorial/opinion, and lifestyle. Local news relates to news from a certain geographic area and can be hard or soft. You will learn more about the different types of news when you sign up for a journalism degree course from a provider such as //schoolofjournalism.co.uk/.
Hard and soft news both have their place in the world of journalism. Whilst hard news is considered ‘real news’, soft news remains an integral and well-received element of both print and broadcast journalism.
