LAUSR

ABSTRACT The trend toward softer news is often explained by macro-developments such as commercialization. Based on the assumption that media content is also affected by the characteristics of individual journalists, this paper investigates the impact of journalistic role conceptions on hard and soft news coverage. Drawing upon a multi-dimensional understanding of the concept of hard and soft news, we conducted an online survey with simulated decision scenarios among German newspaper journalists to assess the impact of these aspects on hard and soft news coverage. The findings indicate that journalists were more likely to resort to soft news coverage if they adhered to an entertainment role conception. When looking at individual hard and soft news dimensions, we partially found a gap between role conception and enactment.