DISCLAIMER: The notes given below are the compilation of information from various sources based on the topics that were discussed in the ‘Introduction to Journalism class. These notes are being compiled to help the students of Journalism enhances their knowledge.
DEPARTMENT: B.A. (Hons) Journalism
SEMESTER: I
PAPER: INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM
UNIT: I
TOPIC: HARD NEWS VS SOFT NEWS
Time Period: The mentioned topic was discussed in class in the first week of January, 2023.
HARD NEWS VS SOFT NEWS
News is a vital component of modern society, providing information about events and issues that are shaping our world. Although news stories can fall into more than one category, these are mainly classified into two broad categories- Hard News and Soft News. Hard news and Soft news are two distinct forms of news content in journalism. Both types of news serve different purposes and play an important role in providing a balanced and comprehensive view of current events.
HARD NEWS
This is the term journalists use to refer to “news of the day.” Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact on the society as a whole and need to be reported urgently. It’s a chronicle of current events/incidents and is the most common news style on the front page of the typical newspaper. Hard news gives readers the information they need.
Examples of hard news stories include reports on crime, court cases, government announcements, house fires, awards ceremonies, plane crashes, international events, etc.
SOFT NEWS
This is a term for news that is not necessarily time-sensitive. Soft news refers to the stories that provide other background information about lifestyle and entertainment and typically revolves around culture, art, and human-interest events. Since these do not deal with serious subjects, they are labeled as “soft”. Feature stories take a step back from the headlines to explore an issue in depth.
Examples include sports news, celebrity news, or human-interest stories that deal with emotions.
HARD NEWS VS SOFT NEWS
WRITING STYLE
Hard news reporting uses clean and uncluttered writing. It may start with a summary lead that describes what happened, where, when, to/by whom, and why (the journalist's 5 W's). Written in the soft news style, they are an effective way to write about complex issues too large for the terse style of a hard news item. A feature usually focuses on a certain angle, explores it through background research and interviews with the people involved, and then draws conclusions from that information.
Hard news stories are supposed to be strictly objective- the journalist need not give his or her opinion on the story, but should provide facts as they are. The hard news stories also ideally follow the Inverted Pyramid structure of writing. Soft stories can be, and are editorialized. They can be subjective, and do not follow the Inverted Pyramid.
This distinction is not a straightjacket; sometimes it becomes very difficult to distinguish between the two. For example, where do we classify a story done on the personal lives of politicians?
DEADLINES
A reporter covering a hard news story is given a much tighter deadline, owing to the urgency of the coverage Soft news can also be a timeless feature- for example an article on “The Benefits of Chocolate”, “Tips to Lose Weight”, etc. can be published at any given point of time. The writing style here is much more flexible.
Hard news includes politics and business. Hard news journalism refers to breaking news and up-to-the-minute news about serious, timely, or hard-hitting topics that are timely and urgent, usually based on facts and rigorous research. Political journalism, business journalism, and watchdog journalism are forms of hard news Soft news primarily focuses on entertainment. Soft news journalism focuses on lifestyle and entertainment and typically revolves around culture, art, and human-interest events. Soft news includes sports journalism, entertainment journalism, and celebrity coverage
EXAMPLES:
· A breaking, surprising event of great import on most of the public and/or the environment (e.g. epidemic, natural disaster, terror attack)
· New findings, discovery or report regarding a continuing story of great significance for most of the public and/or the environment
EXAMPLES:
· Reports on a light or exotic topics (gossip, fashion, consumerism) that can be reported at a later time or not all.
· Light or routine news that for non-substantive reasons (famous personality) or media competition (‘scoop’) must be reported immediately.
(This is compiled by a team of 3 students from the batch 2026. This is published under the Media Research Cell, established by Dr.Vartika Nanda in the year 2020.)
43 comments:
Hard news are serious news which have to be reported on time or at the earliest. It lost it's value if reported late . Soft news whereas are of human interest stories or background story of hard news . They have the same value over time. Consider an example - There will be a huge rainfall on 16 Feb. What if it's reported on 17 Feb, nobody will be interested in knowing that news. This is a kind of hard news. Consider another example - The factors responsible for huge rainfall, that's a kind of soft news. They have the same value over time and can be reported at any time.
All in all, what I got from this article is Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact on the society as a whole and need to be reported urgently.
Whereas, soft news is a term for news that is not necessarily time-sensitive. Soft news refers to the stories that provide other background information about lifestyle
Hard news vs soft news
-Hard news refers to the news stories which seriously impact the society and needs to be reported urgently. Whereas,soft news stories are those which are not very serious,based on entertainment and involves human interest.
-Their writing styles are different as hard news is generally stated in an inverted pyramid manner,so is not the case with soft news.
-Hard news is time bound,it follows the principle of timeliness and soft news doesn't necessarily have to be timely.
-Eg of hard news- The recent incident of Joshimath.
Eg of soft news- Tips on pregnancy by Alia Bhatt.
"News" can be defined as "new information or a report of recent events, especially as reported by newspapers, websites, or broadcast media." It is often referred to as "breaking news" or "the latest updates" and can encompass a wide range of topics, from politics and economics to sports and entertainment.
Although news stories can fall into more than 2 categories it is broadly classified into HARD NEWS AND SOFT NEWS.
Hard news refers to the serious and important news stories that are typically straightforward and direct. These stories cover topics such as politics, economics, crime, and natural disasters, and are usually reported with a neutral tone. They are meant to inform the public of current events that have significant impact and provide a clear understanding of the facts.
Soft news, on the other hand, refers to news stories that are less serious and more lighthearted in nature. These stories often cover topics such as entertainment, lifestyle, human interest, and celebrity gossip, and are usually reported with a more personal and entertaining tone. Soft news is meant to provide a break from the heavy and serious topics covered in hard news and to engage the audience with stories that are interesting and entertaining.
Both hard news and soft news serve different but important purposes in journalism. Hard news provides the public with the information they need to stay informed and make informed decisions, while soft news offers a respite from the heavy topics and provides a more lighthearted take on current events.
As Walter Cronkite puts it -“ Hard News is the famous battleship, soft news the charming sailboat. Together, they keep democracy afloat”
These notes accurately describe the distinction between two broad categories of news content in journalism: Hard News and Soft News, in a very detailed manner including the nature of deadlines for both, leaving no space for any confusion.Both types of news play an important role in providing a balanced and comprehensive view of current events.
Hard news and soft news are different types of news content writing that are crucial for providing audience with accurate and balanced information. As the name implies, hard news consists of important topics that can't be ignored, are time-sensitive, and have an impact on society as a whole, as opposed to soft news, which focuses on topics related to art, literature, etc. and isn't required to be published at that specific time. While soft news attempts to amuse or advise the audience, hard news is written in an inverted pyramid that addresses all 5Ws and 1 H. However, these distinctions are becoming increasingly blurry. It can be challenging to determine whether a piece of news is hard or soft based solely on the subject matter.
Ma'am this blog is very insightful and i got to know diffrence between them with good examples so it really helps me
These comments clearly and in great detail, including the nature of deadlines for each, distinguish between two major categories of news content in journalism: Hard News and Soft News, leaving no room for misunderstanding. Both forms of news are crucial in presenting a fair and thorough picture of the happenings of the day.
Since I already have prior knowledge about what hard news and soft news mean, this served as a good revision.
I have done quite thorough research on this topic and I want to say that the write up had all the information that is required to understand the concept perfectly. It makes mention of breaking news, deadlines, 5ws ( though misses out on the H component), inverted pyramid structure, objectivity and subjectivity, and also the summary lead. Hard news is basically news that is urgent important and may lie on a local, national or international level. Whereas, soft news focuses on entertainment, culture, art etc and is not that urgent or timely.
this article helped me distinguish between hard news and soft news, understanding the difference cab help journalists and news organizations serve their audiences by providing content that is relevant and appropriate for their needs. This can help increase readership and engagement, as well as establish the credibility and reputation of the news organization. It also helps to avoid confusion or misinformation by ensuring that the appropriate level of detail and seriousness is given to different types of stories.
•The blog carries the reader with them. As it takes them from what they know about news to some special classification as hard news and soft news.
•Hard news and soft news classification is clearly demarcated in the article based on their structure, headlines, audience’s attitude towards them and the deadlines given to reporters pertaining to these two distinct news topics.
•Examples are provided along with all these, and hence it becomes crystal clear as these examples surround us every day in our daily life.
Mahi Adlakha
(22/0959)
A comprehensive study of the above article led me to be able to better classify hard news and soft news. Hard news based on my understanding refers to stories that are timely and consequential usually report current events of wide significance including but not limited to reports on crimes government announcements, international events etc and are based on rigorous facts and research. Soft News consist of news stories that are not as time sensitive and focus more on background elements such as lifestyle ,entertainment and human interest news stories.The article further enriched my understanding of how the two differ in writing style as well.
Hard news and Soft news are two very different and opposite types of news. While Hard news is news that is more urgent, time-specific and contains seriousness, Soft news on the other hand is news that is more relaxed, and is not time specific. The beauty of these two components is that despite being so different, there is a very fine line between a news story being hard news or soft news and this is what makes writing news stories interesting and fun.
News ,basically is happenings around us that are worth noticing.However,news can be divided into different categories, but here we saw the classification of news in two categories:hard news and soft news.
HARD NEWS - Journalists called it as "News of the day". It generally appears on the very first page of the newspaper or broadcasted as the initial news on the channels as these are of utmost importance and needs to be reported urgently. It's one of the main characteristics is that it contains 5Ws and 1 H.
For example: In the car accident on 10th Feb.2023 near CP, 2 people died and 2 critically injured;hospitalized .
SOFT NEWS: Soft news covers the stories which are timeless and don't need to be covered urgently. It focuses on lifestyle and entertainment and revolves around culture and,art and human interests. It includes sports journalism and entertainment journalism .
For example:PM attended the wedding function of the famous businessman 's son.
Major difference:
1.Journalists covering hard news have a much tighter deadline in comparison to soft news.
2.Writing style of Both differs significantly.Hard news stories are supposed to be objective ,whereas soft stories are editorialised.
News is defined as a development that has happened in the past couple of hours, which is of wide interest to the people and generates curiosity among readers. News can be classified into two categories- hards news and soft news. Both of them are crucial in providing accurate and balanced information to the people.
This blog does a great job of comparing and contrasting these two types of news and highlighting their main distinctions. I found the blog to be well-written and informative. Thank you for engaging with the subject and providing a number of concrete examples to help us understand.
News is defined as a development that has happened in the past couple of hours, which is of wide interest to the people and generates curiosity among readers. News can be classified into two categories- hards news and soft news. Both of them are crucial in providing accurate and balanced information to the people.
This blog does a great job of comparing and contrasting these two types of news and highlighting their main distinctions. I found the blog to be well-written and informative. Thank you for engaging with the subject and providing a number of concrete examples to help us understand.
From this article I got to learn the basics differences between hard news and soft news and their importance in today's media. Hard news generally have a big impact at the society as a whole and need to be reported urgently whereas soft news focuses on human interest stories, lifestyle, entertainment and celebrity gossips.It is typically less serious than traditional news. This article presents the examples of both to get a clear idea. It really helped me.Thanku Ma'am.
This article quite beautifully explains the concept of news and then highlights the distinction between Hard News and Soft News. Hard news is basically those news that covers serious topics and demand urgent publication. Issues like politics, crimes, welfare, etc comes under this category. On the other hand, soft news deals with not so serious issues. They are more entertainment related.
Both the types of news are completely different from each other and highlight different issues and event.
Since I already had minor knowledge about what hard and soft news is, reading this gave me much more information regarding the same and a very thorough explanation along with examples. This article is really helpful for last minute readings before the exam to brush up one's knowledge and memory.
Hard news and soft news are two distinct types of news that are used to inform the public about events, issues, and people.
Hard news refers to serious and timely events that are of major public interest and impact. These events are often of a political, economic, or social nature and are reported in a straightforward and objective manner. Soft news, on the other hand, refers to less serious news stories that are typically human-interest or lifestyle-oriented. Soft news stories are often reported in a lighter and more personal tone, and they aim to entertain, inform, and engage the audience. This article is informative and helped me to understand this concept with clarity.
- Nanki Singh
Hard news and soft news are two distinct types of news that are used to inform the public about events, issues, and people.
Hard news refers to serious and timely events that are of major public interest and impact. These events are often of a political, economic, or social nature and are reported in a straightforward and objective manner. Soft news, on the other hand, refers to less serious news stories that are typically human-interest or lifestyle-oriented. Soft news stories are often reported in a lighter and more personal tone, and they aim to entertain, inform, and engage the audience. This article is informative and helped me to understand this concept with clarity.
Hard news and soft news are two distinct types of news that are used to inform the public about events, issues, and people.
Hard news refers to serious and timely events that are of major public interest and impact. These events are often of a political, economic, or social nature and are reported in a straightforward and objective manner. Soft news, on the other hand, refers to less serious news stories that are typically human-interest or lifestyle-oriented. Soft news stories are often reported in a lighter and more personal tone, and they aim to entertain, inform, and engage the audience. This article is informative and helped me to understand this concept with clarity.
- Nanki Singh
Hard news provides critical information that people need to stay informed about the world around them, while soft news offers a welcome respite from the often overwhelming negativity of hard news and provides a glimpse into the lives of everyday people.
In conclusion, hard news and soft news are two sides of the same coin, each serving a different purpose and catering to different audiences. Both are important components of a well-rounded and comprehensive news coverage.
This article made me understand that hard news refers to serious and important events that have a significant impact on people's lives and the wider society. This type of news is typically focused on politics, economics, crime, disasters, and other significant events that have a tangible effect on the public. Hard news is usually straightforward and objective in its presentation and is intended to inform the public about current events in an impartial manner.
Soft news, on the other hand, refers to lighter, less serious, and more personal news stories. This type of news is often focused on human interest stories, celebrity gossip, lifestyle and entertainment news, and other topics that are not as serious or significant as hard news. Soft news is often more subjective and personal in its approach and is intended to entertain and engage the audience rather than inform them.
The article is clear, precise and easy to understand.
Hard news and soft news are two distinct forms of news reporting that serve different purposes and cater to different audiences. Hard news and soft news both serve a valuable purpose in informing and entertaining the public. Hard news provides critical information that people need to stay informed about the world around them, while soft news offers a welcome respite from the often overwhelming negativity of hard news and provides a glimpse into the lives of everyday people.
In conclusion, hard news and soft news are two sides of the same coin, each serving a different purpose and catering to different audiences. Both are important components of a well-rounded and comprehensive news coverage.
I really liked the fact that the authors have added appropriate examples for students to understand this concept clearly. It will really help me to prepare well for my exams
Greatfull for your efforts!!!
I understood the difference between two types of news very clearly The hard news is the news which Is more serious and has an impact on society and people like any major economic crash or death of a president and soft news is more of for entertainment purpose and is not that urgent also ,it doesn’t impacts impact society as such for eg news of any silly statement made by a politician
This article starts by mentioning what News is and then further draws a distinction between Hard News and Soft News. Hard news basically means those news which cover some serious issues and needs to be reported urgently. Issues like politics, crimes, welfare, international relations comes under the category of hard news. On the other hand, soft news refers to those news which are entertainment related and usually cover lifestyle stories. They do not require urgent publication.
Both these types of news are important in providing audience with balanced information
The structure of this article is according to exam pattern so it will help us in our exams.starting with what news is and then dividing news in two broad categories.after this defining soft news and hards news separately and also how to write in soft and hard style.examples were good and provided an idea of how actually a soft and hard news is.
The concept of hard news and soft news was very new to me. While on one hand hard news needs to be reported immediately, soft news doesn't really need to be. Seriousness of the issue is again an example. Also hard news should be objective where soft news can be subjective too.
This blog explains the topic in really crisp manner. Grateful for that.
The article provides clarity as to what are the different sort of issues covered under the head of hard news and soft news. these categories can be considered on an spectrum as opposite points where hard news covers events involving seriousness and urgency whereas soft news covers feature stories which do not require any urgent publication as such. Hard news is written in inverted pyramid style whereas there is no specific writing style recommended for a soft newspiece.
Learning about these distinctions has made me more conscious of how newspaper and their content are structured and broadened my understanding of the same.
A well structured article that provides all necessary details. As a reader, I was able to develop an understanding of the differences between hard news and soft news. Suitable examples connected with well formulated explanations led to a further complete understanding of the concept. And, it was interesting to note the different writing styles employed by these categories of news.
-Athira
Summary on hard news vs soft news
-Priya Dey
Hard news consists of urgent and the most impactful event details like political events and dramas, disasters, crime and business. These are presented with facts, are objective and latest due to the tight deadlines.
It follows a specific order called the inverted pyramid which highlights the 5Ws (what where when who and why).
Soft news however focuses on lifestyles, cultural stories and entertainment news. Unlike hard news these are not time sensitive and can be published anytime. It also has a more flexible writing style allowing it be more subjective making it more engaging and entertaining.
Hard and Soft news are two distinct categories of journalistic content each with its own focus and presentation style.
a) HARD NEWS: Hard news is characterized by coverage of timely, significant events and issues, relying heavily on factual reporting, analysis and in-depth investigation. Normally topics such as, politics, international affairs and other consequential developments are included in hard news.
Hard news stories that have developed overnight or on the same day are often referred to by journalists as "breaking news", emphasizing facts as it has happened, not opinion or analysis.
b) SOFT NEWS: Soft news covers more ephemeral subjects, often centered around entertainment, sports, celebrity culture,human interest stories, aiming primarily to entertain rather than inform.
Such news has much importance on the lives of the audience. It depends upon human interest for its news value and appeal people's curiosity, sympathy, scepticism or amazement. Features, editorials, articles, etc fall under the category of soft news.
Regardless of the effects of hard and soft news, it is generally agreed that hard news and soft news are not wholly distinct categories but rather exist on a continuum. In the current media landscape, hard and soft news techniques are often blended. Topics that are traditionally considered hard news can be softened by using a different style of reporting, and soft news frequently incorporate information that is of political and societal importance.
In one of my lectures that happened recently, our professor "Dr. Vartika Nanda" enlightened us with the two broad categories of NEWS, i.e, Hard News and Soft News.
I learned that, Hard News is about serious important events that need to be told fast like - elections, earthquakes, government decisions, crimes or sudden accidents. On the other side, Soft News is lighter and about human interest like - celebrity interviews, festival coverage, sports profiles or new food trends.
In simple words, Hard News is like "just tell me what happened" whereas, Soft News is about "tell me each and every detail of it".
One is urgent and straight to the point, the other is creative and engaging.
On top of that, I was given the opportunity to present the notes of this very topic, along with a batchmate of mine, which made my understanding crystal clear.
Hard news and soft news are two important categories in journalism with different purposes. Hard news is urgent reporting of significant events like political developments, disasters, or crimes, often following the inverted pyramid structure and meeting strict deadlines. Soft news, on the other hand, focuses on lifestyle, culture, and entertainment, offering different contexts and often subjective perspectives. While hard news informs the public about immediate issues, soft news engages and connects through different narratives and emotions. Both are essential for a balanced media ecosystem, and overlaps are also possible - such as personal stories about political figures.
The blog highlights the key distinction between hard news and soft news in journalism. Hard news focuses on urgent, fact-driven stories—political decisions, economic shifts, crimes, or natural disasters—where timeliness and accuracy are critical. It is objective, straightforward, and meant to inform quickly. Soft news, in contrast, emphasizes human interest, lifestyle, culture, and entertainment. It is more descriptive, emotional, and flexible in timing, aiming to engage rather than simply inform. In modern journalism, these categories often overlap. For example, a climate change report (hard news) might be told through the personal struggles of a coastal family (soft news), making the issue relatable without losing its seriousness. This hybrid approach reflects how audiences consume media today-they want to be informed but also emotionally connected. Understanding this balance is essential for effective storytelling and for meeting both the head and the heart in journalism.
From this, I understood that news can be broadly divided into hard news and soft news. Hard news covers urgent, serious topics like politics, disasters, crimes, and important announcements. It is factual, objective, and follows a strict, concise writing style with tight deadlines. Soft news, on the other hand, focuses on lifestyle, entertainment, human-interest stories, and features. It can be more subjective, creative, and flexible in timing. In my view, both are important—hard news keeps people informed about crucial events, while soft news adds depth, variety, and relatability to journalism, making it more engaging and balanced for readers.
Aakriti Yati
Hard news refers to factual, time-sensitive reporting on significant events such as politics, disasters, or economic changes, often demanding immediate public attention. Soft news focuses on human interest, lifestyle, culture, or entertainment, aiming to engage emotions rather than urgency. Research in journalism studies shows hard news influences public decision-making, while soft news shapes cultural perceptions and long-term attitudes. In modern media, the lines blur—soft news sometimes introduces critical issues in an accessible way, while hard news adopts narrative techniques for retention. Understanding both is essential, as their combined impact sustains informed citizenship and connects audiences to the broader human experience
By - Geet
The blog highlights the key distinction between hard news and soft news in journalism. Hard news focuses on urgent, fact-driven stories—political decisions, economic shifts, crimes, or natural disasters—where timeliness and accuracy are critical. It is objective, straightforward, and meant to inform quickly. Soft news, in contrast, emphasizes human interest, lifestyle, culture, and entertainment. It is more descriptive, emotional, and flexible in timing, aiming to engage rather than simply inform. In modern journalism, these categories often overlap. For example, a climate change report (hard news) might be told through the personal struggles of a coastal family (soft news), making the issue relatable without losing its seriousness. This hybrid approach reflects how audiences consume media today—they want to be informed but also emotionally connected. Understanding this balance is essential for effective storytelling and for meeting both the head and the heart in journalism.
By -Nibedita Manna
News can be classified into two major categories; hard news and soft news. Hard news can be classified as events that are of utmost importance at a national and/or at a social level, and requires to be reported urgently within a stipulated period of time and have to be objective with a straightforward writing style, like national and international events; whereas soft news can be stories about lifestyle and entertainment, not necessarily bound by a time limit and usually focus on culture, art, etc. and are usually subjective and editorial in nature, like news about sports or celebrities.
Hard news refers to news on serious, impactful and vital topics such as politics, the climate, war, criminal activity. For these kind of news reports, its essential to be timely.
Whereas soft news refers to news on light topics such as celebrities, sports and movies. It isn't crucial for them to be on time.
Hard news delivers urgent, significant events that shape public understanding and policy, such as political developments, business updates, or investigative reports. It includes political journalism, business journalism, and watchdog journalism, covering events like epidemics, disasters, or major discoveries. Soft news focuses on lifestyle, culture, entertainment, sports, and celebrity coverage. These stories are lighter, often less time-sensitive, and aim to engage or amuse audiences. Generally soft news often attracts higher pay due to greater advertising appeal, sponsership .While hard news sustains democracy by informing citizens, soft news sustains audience interst.
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