Hard News VS Soft News Analysis

Hard News Article: https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/halyna-hutchins-husband-names-alec-baldwin-in-wrongful-death-suit-20220216-p59wt6.html



In the Hard News article, Alec Baldwin lawsuit: Halyna Hutchins’ husband names Alec Baldwin in wrongful death suit, I would consider it to be a hard news article for a number of reasons. Firstly the topic, the wrongful murder of a human, a current and ongoing lawsuit against a well-known actor all meet the definition of hard news. This story is current and developing, featuring on the front page of well-known newspapers. The cohesive tone of this article is highly serious, with only the major facts being stated, there is hardly any so-called “fluff” in this piece. The layout of this article is fairly simple, there are pictures relevant to the article, however, there aren’t too many pictures, giving the article a highly text-oriented focus. This piece is not opinion-based, it is purely a factual piece, with no intention of being a source of entertainment, rather a source of information.





Soft news Article: https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/woolworths-managers-blistering-response-after-spotting-job-applicants-facebook-post-c-5691727






In the Soft News article, titled “Woolworths manager’s blistering response after spotting job applicant’s Facebook post”, there are a few things that would classify this article as soft news. Firstly the topic tag of the article is lifestyle, meaning that this article isn’t designed to inform or alert people, rather entertain, or surprise people. Another reason that this is considered soft news, is the fact that it could be local news, that doesn't really affect everyone's lives. There are minimal pictures in this article, however, there are dodgy looking screenshots, which may give an impression of a tabloid-esque article. The title of this article was designed to lure readers in with its use of seemingly unnecessary adjectives such as “blistering.” The tone of this article is not serious, however, it is not bright and bubbly either, the article has a neutral tone with slight hints of surprise and shock throughout it. There is a certain amount of “filler” or “fluff” in this article to surround the main details.

Hard news Image - Source: The AGE