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

Human interest stories and speechifying might lament or deplore common predicaments, but their storylines rarely connect the destructive effects of economic insecurity with the ways that corporate power plunders social resources and fleeces the working class.

From Salon

Kellyman is terrific opposite Squibb, but this unconventional friendship tale is the kind of slight human interest story that slips from your consciousness almost as soon as it has made its brief impression.

From Los Angeles Times

Annie enjoys covering trends in human interest, LGBTQ+ issues and climate policy.

From Salon

Chloë Sevigny plays Edna, the host of a globe-trotting web series that seeks out human interest stories: Bolivian teenage exorcists, Mexican fashionistas in scimitar-shaped boots and now, a singer called Super Carlitos who dresses like a bunny and bops around a village called San Cristobal.

From Los Angeles Times

In this genre of the “all access” documentary, Freeman and Betts are about as good as it gets in attracting casual fans — the ones not interested in exit velocities or launch angles, but invested in human interest stories.

From Los Angeles Times