Human Interest

Human interest is a vital ingredient in making some event or situation newsworthy. One of the compelling questions answered by journalists is “Who did something?” or “To whom did something happen?” The element of human interest enlivens a news story. It makes the story more appealing because it is about real people. It centers on the feelings and emotions of real people.

The human interest value of a story is easily revealed in the news programming axiom: If it bleeds, it leads. That statement reflects the sense that if the story has human drama, pathos, it is going to satisfy audiences' desire to see the human element of the news. News doesn't just happen. It happens to real people.

Meeting the human interest challenge separates the inadequate, adequate, good, excellent, and great journalists and public relations practitioners. Every practitioner is challenged to create media relations. Part of that challenge is to release to reporters news and news tips that attract their interest because the news is newsworthy. Newsworthiness is a strategic decision about the reader, listener, or viewer appeal of the content and presentation of news stories.

Human interest is created, for instance, by a news report that a child is missing from home. That story is made more interesting by noting the age of the child. A younger child would likely generate more news value, human interest impact, than an older child. The story would have more human interest if [Page 398]the days were cold, the disappearance occurred under suspicious circumstances, the child were blind, or the child were lightly clothed—too lightly for safety given the lowering temperatures. If a storm were brewing, that would add human interest.

Thus, the details that enrich the drama of the news event add human interest. If a practitioner is trying to attract attention to some event, he or she is more likely to do so if it has human interest. Let's reflect on a real-life situation. What if a practitioner working to gain attention for the grand opening of a department store or mall is confronted with a nuance such as the mall or store catching fire near the opening date? The news releases are attempting to attract customers' attention to the opening to increase traffic. But the fire diverts the grand opening. Announcing that the store or mall is about to open after the appropriate repairs have been made might be anticlimactic. What if the merchants pool resources and buy a Dalmatian puppy to give to the fire station that responded to the fire alarm? What if the merchants also contributed money to a charity that was sponsored by the fire personnel and announced the gift? Would the new grand opening have more news value, more human interest, if associated will this tribute to the fire personnel who had risked their lives to extinguish the fire?

In the best sense, human interest is a vital part of each news story. One of the reasons people pay attention to the news is to learn about the impact of news events on people's lives. For this reason charities tend to build on the human interest, such as stories of needy families at Christmas, to increase the likelihood that reporters will present the news and audiences will receive it. Used ethically for the good of the issue, human interest is a very positive aspect of news and the media relations efforts of practitioners.

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