Which category focuses on stories that induce emotional connections?

The correct answer is the category that focuses on stories that induce emotional connections, which is human interest. Human interest stories are designed to engage the audience on a personal level, often highlighting the experiences, challenges, or triumphs of individuals or groups. These narratives typically evoke empathy and understanding by presenting relatable human experiences, making them particularly effective in capturing the audience's emotions.

In contrast, hard news generally covers factual information about significant events or issues, such as politics, crime, or disasters, while feature news offers in-depth exploration of various topics, often with a storytelling approach but not necessarily focusing on emotional connections. Investigative news digs deeper into issues to uncover hidden facts or truths and may not aim to create emotional engagement but rather inform or raise awareness about particular subjects. Thus, human interest is specifically tailored to evoke feelings and foster connections through storytelling.