Hard and soft news: A review of concepts, operationalizations and key findings

Abstract

Over 30 years, a large body of research on what is often called 'hard' and 'soft news' has accumulated in communication studies. However, there is no consensus about what hard and soft news exactly is, or how it should be defined or measured. Moreover, the concept has not been clearly differentiated from or systematically related to concepts addressing very similar phenomena -tabloidization and 'infotainment'. Consequently, the results of various studies are hard to compare and different scientific discourses on related issues remain unconnected. Against this backdrop, this article offers a conceptual analysis of the concept based on studies in English and other languages. We identify key dimensions of the concept and make suggestions for a standardized definition and multi-dimensional measurement of harder and softer news. In doing so, we propose to distinguish thematic, focus and style features as basic dimensions that -in their combination -make up harder and softer types of news.

Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

“…To maintain or increase audience shares, in an era of stiffening market competition and decreasing editorial budgets, media have been accused of choosing more popular and less expensive content over more important and expensive-to-produce news (Davis, 2014). While not new, concerns about declining quality of the news are widespread both within and outside academia -encapsulated in terms such as dumbing-down, tabloidization, infotainment and softening of news (Reinemann, Stanyer, Scherr, & Legnante, 2012). This concern rests on the broadly shared assumption that high-quality political news is crucial for public knowledge and a prerequisite for a healthy democracy.…”

“…More recently, some scholars argue that late night comedians even have become the most important newscasters in the US (Baym, 2010). Based on an extensive review of empirical studies on hard and soft news (including those on tabloidization and infotainment), Reinemann et al (2012) conclude however that the evidence is mixed. Contrary to popular claims, there is no overwhelming evidence of a trend of declining hard news across developed democracies.…”

News Consumption and Its Unpleasant Side Effect

“…For example, the topic of a news story may lack a public policy component (e.g., a personal tragedy) but the journalist may report it informally and from a broader societal perspective, or vice versa. It is thus not only the news story topic that determines whether news is hard or soft (Curran, Salovaara-Moring, Coen, & Iyengar, 2010): News coverage that links crime to the public good, policies and societal causes would be considered "hard," whereas it would be considered "soft" when the story's main focus is on the crime itself or on the specific victim or perpetrator.Systematically analyzing the variety in operationalizations and definitions put forward in the literature, Reinemann et al (2012) come to a definition for the difference between hard and soft news on three dimensions: (1) whether or not the topic is politically relevant or focuses on societal conflicts; (2) whether the focus is on society versus individuals by means of thematic versus episodic frames; and, (3) whether the style is impersonal and unemotional or personal and emotional. Our argumentation for how hard and soft news would affect mental well-being follows this tripartite conceptualization of hard versus soft news.…”

“…Though soft news sometimes may contribute to knowledge of high profile issues, such as political scandals or stories that involve celebrities (Baum, 2002), it rarely provides knowledge about for example (the war on) terrorism, or crime, while hard news audiences have been shown to learn about this (Prior, 2007). So, while soft news viewers are at times exposed to depictions of tragic events and a "mean world" due to the sensational nature of these programs (Baum, 2003), these news items are often mixed with lighter and positive stories (Brants & Neijens, 1998;Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010), which arguably provide more of a means of relaxation and break away from current events than hard news provides (Boczkowski & Mitchelstein, 2010).Regarding the second dimension to distinguish hard news from soft news (i.e., the focus in news coverage), events are more frequently portrayed in a human interest-framed, episodic manner in soft news than in hard news programs that, by, contrast tend to provide a (political) system-oriented perspective (Reinemann et al, 2012). Though also an element of hard news coverage (Iyengar, 1991), soft news more regularly exemplifies abstract topics by means of laypersons or with the help of an eyewitness camera (Grabe et al, 2001;Hendriks Vettehen, Beentjes, Nuijten, & Peeters, 2011).…”

Metamorfosis de la prensa de referencia en el contexto digital: clickbait y estrategias de tabloide en Elpais.com

“…Tomando la definición de Kurtz, Esser destaca que la tabloidización lleva implícita la idea de proceso, que supone la contaminación de la prensa de calidad de contenidos propios de la popular, y sostiene que debe analizarse desde una aproximación multidimensional, a partir de un amplio rango de indicadores (1999). En esta transformación intervienen las presiones económicas y las imposiciones de los anunciantes, con la demanda de contenidos mucho más llamativos e impactantes para atraer lectores (Esser, 1999;Sparks & Tulloch, 2000;Reinemann et al, 2011), algo que se agudiza en un momento de grave crisis económica y de modelo de negocio como el actual (Rowe, 2011). Magin & Stark apelan a una correlación de factores que incluye la estructura de mercado y la estrategia del medio (2015).…”