ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the hierarchy of journalistic genres, the boundary struggles that exist between legitimate forms of news, and how to protect the boundaries of the journalistic profession to encounter the economic field. The boundary between hard and soft news is the dividing line that separates one of the strongest dichotomies of news production. Within the sociological approach to news, journalism is often described as a broad practice ranging beyond political reporting and in-depth investigation. News is often thought of as disruptions news is rather about confirmation. Disruptions are primarily communicated as hard news, such as war reporting, political exposure or investigative journalism. Affirmations primarily come in the form of soft news, entertainment, features and human-interest stories, family life, consumer journalism, and sports. The hard and soft dichotomy therefore reflects the hierarchy that separates the higher and lower forms of journalistic genres, professional practices, ethical issues, and journalism's potential socio-democratic impact.
