Breaking news is new and important information that has occurred in real time that requires immediate reporting. Typically, breaking stories are of an urgent nature, such as natural disasters or major accidents. They also often require journalists to report live at the scene and rely on eyewitness accounts and official statements for their content. Breaking news often interrupts regular programming and leads to continuous updates as more information becomes available.
Before 24-hour news channels became common, the interruption of regular programming for breaking news was usually reserved for extremely serious events such as the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, which prompted many local stations to stop their normal broadcasts for live coverage. In recent years, the trend has moved toward stations simply using “Newsflash” or “Special report” tickers during regularly scheduled programming, which reduces the need for cut-ins.
Determine your team’s criteria for interrupting scheduled programming to cover breaking news and the methods your organization uses to notify viewers of these situations (such as alert crawls). Discuss the importance of being able to provide accurate information, especially during stressful times. Evaluate the role of social media in how quickly and widely breaking news is disseminated and consumed.
When covering breaking news, it is critical to remember Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will probably go wrong. Resist the urge to speculate, and always check your facts. Getting the story right may mean not releasing names of injured or deceased individuals until their loved ones have been notified. This is also a good opportunity to remind your staff of the need to be respectful of victims and their families when conducting interviews with witnesses at the scene of an event.