human-interest story

[ hyoo-muhn-in-ter-ist, -tristor, often, yoo- ]

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of human-interest story¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

“We like to say a certain human-interest story transcends the sport and other sports fans in general like it. In this case, you don’t have to be a sports fan. It’s human interest at its most elemental.”

From Los Angeles Times

I’d appeared as a feature on the ten o’clock news the night before, the little human-interest story they do between the weather and sports.

From Literature

After that, these broadcasts become a kind of improvised human-interest story about people dealing with snow.

From New York Times

This lack of practical detail means this documentary plays as a human-interest story, built from predictable beats of adversity and triumph.

From New York Times

The Sunday March 7 issue dedicated two-thirds of the cover page and an additional double-page spread to a human-interest story about a male skateboarder.

From Los Angeles Times