Market-driven journalism Soft news, often known as market-driven journalism, is a journalistic style and genre that blurs the distinction between information and enjoyment. It is characterized by light, entertaining articles about popular culture and social life that focus on what's new, what's trending, and why it matters. A soft opening is a preliminary or trial run of a business. In the context of a theater, restaurant, or other entertainment venue, this term refers to an open house where visitors can see how the establishment functions before it opens for regular business. This allows guests to provide feedback that helps the owner decide what changes need to be made before the business opens for its real purpose. The term "soft opening" was first used by American theatre owners in the early 20th century to describe a period of time when a business would open its doors but not offer any type of service. For example, a soft opening could be used to determine whether there was enough interest in the community for several different restaurants to open at one location. If so, then all of them would open together during their normal hours of operation instead of just one.