human interest

American  

noun

1. a quality of a story or report, as in a newspaper or on a newscast, that engages attention and sympathy by enabling one to identify readily with the people, problems, and situations described.

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human interest British  

noun

1. (in a newspaper story, news broadcasting, etc) reference to individuals and their emotions

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Other Word Forms

• human-interest adjective

Etymology

Origin of human interest

First recorded in 1775–80

Example Sentences

Swedish reporter Kim Wall disappeared in 2017 on assignment, covering what should have been a tame human interest story about a celebrity inventor and his latest contraption.

From Los Angeles Times

The network said it had made an exception to its rule at the time because it determined that it was of significant human interest for Cuomo to interview his brother, governor of one of the country’s hardest-hit states.

From Washington Post

If you define it as “lots of human interest stories shown during primetime at the cost of actual live sport” then, yes, NBC’s coverage is good.

From The Guardian

Throw in past articles on Kobe, Bill’s personal experience with COVID-19 … and many other human interest stories about everyday people and you have a true sports/newspaper columnist; which in today’s age is hard to find.

From Los Angeles Times

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden would regale aides with human interest tidbits from Apple News, an app that came preloaded on his iPhone and that he apparently never replaced.

From Washington Post