A breaking news story is an event that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly. Typically, these events are of urgent national or international importance and warrant immediate attention by news media outlets. They often disrupt regular programming, such as the interruption of a scheduled newscast. Breaking news events usually involve a serious accident or natural disaster. They may also be a political or military development or a sudden political scandal.
A news reporter’s job is to deliver the facts of a breaking news story quickly and clearly. To do so, he or she must know how to format the news story, including what information is most important. The most important information to convey in a breaking news lead is the who, what, where, when and why. The rest of the article should provide a more detailed account of the event.
Eyewitness accounts are particularly important for breaking news stories, but they should be vetted by sources. Especially in the chaotic aftermath of an incident like a shooting, panicked witnesses aren’t always reliable. For example, NPR’s initial report on the Giffords shooting based on a witness who described seeing the congresswoman “slumped in the corner with an apparent gunshot wound to her head” — which turned out to be untrue.
Before 24-hour news channels existed, television and radio stations typically used a breaking news cut-in to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. The cut-in began with a brief pause to allow network affiliates to switch over to the network’s feed, followed by a countdown sequence and an alert graphic. In recent years, some networks have started to use special tickers for selected breaking news stories during their regularly scheduled newscasts, eliminating the need for a cut-in.