Definition

A person may be said to have a vested interest if they have a particular stake in an issue. For example, a stockholder of a company has a vested interest in that company being portrayed positively in the media to improve its public perception.

Effect on reader

Having a vested interest in the issue being discussed in a piece may make the reader more engaged in the issue, or biased towards what is being said. For example, subscribers to a University’s newsletter may be more inclined to respond negatively to an article on funding cuts to the University than a member of the general public.

It can be powerful in Language Analysis writing to be able to identify that the reader is likely to have a vested interest and how this affects their response to the issue.