A human interest story is a feature story that discusses a person or people in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest or sympathy in the reader or viewer.

Human interest stories may be the story behind the story about an event, organization or otherwise faceless historical happening, such as about the life of an individual soldier during war-time, an interview

Interview

An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...

 with a survivor of a natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

, or profile of someone known for a career achievement.

Human interest stories are sometimes criticized as "soft" news, or manipulative, sensationalistic programming. Major human interest stories are presented with a view to entertain the readers or viewers while informing them. Terry Morris

Terry Lesser Morris

Terry Morris was a freelance magazine writer and former president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She also wrote short stories and published several books...

, an early proponent of the genre said she took “considerable license with the facts that are given to me.”