Breaking news, sometimes interchangeably called live news and delayed breaking news or simply news flash and interchangeably stated as a brief special feature or special report, is an item that air on various media including television, radio, newspapers and the Internet where it is made available instantly for viewing. Breaking news is an item which is rapidly spreading and is designed as such so as to give the viewer a quick insight or summary of the event which has been covered. It is usually done with the intention of stirring up debate or controversy about a given issue and may not necessarily be a story of major importance as such. The term was first used in newspapers in colonial times with the aim of stirring controversy and providing a flash or surprise by some important development occurring at any given time.
In this modern era the term breaking news is more often used to refer to a general or timely report on anything that is going to be reported or written. This can be anything from newscasts to local newscasts that are being aired live from certain areas or cities or even entire states or countries. A local newscast may feature anything from the latest happenings in your city to an accident that has just happened in your town. In this day and age a lot of people turn to the Internet for the most current information especially on what is happening in their local area and even the world. For this reason newscasts are seen as essential parts of one’s daily life and are watched by millions of people around the world.
So how exactly is breaking news affected? Well it has the potential to cause several interruptions to scheduled programming. The cause of these interruptions can be anything from natural calamities to major fires or weather events. If the coverage is of an ongoing nature then it has the potential to cause significant disruption to the broadcasting medium.
Let’s say for instance a local newscast is being broadcast from New York. A major event occurs somewhere in the country or world and this breaks the news for the rest of the network affiliates in that particular region. For this reason your audience may have to switch from your local network affiliates to other locations. Your network affiliates may not be able to continue broadcasting if there is no coverage from another location. They have all been allocated channels for coverage and if your report on breaking news events is not going to be covered by one of those outlets then the amount of traffic your website or blog will see will be impacted.
Another impact is seen with weather coverage. Your local news outlets typically only get a limited amount of weather coverage and therefore cannot sustain a full time weather presence. If a severe weather alert is issued then the network affiliates in that region are not authorized to cover the breaking news so they must cancel their original broadcasts.
The potential for a breaking news event to affect your business or brand is something you need to consider. You don’t want your customer’s or subscriber’s attention disrupted by a news item that they were expecting. So what can you do to ensure your online or offline media presence remains fully operational even when a breaking news event of some sort occurs? If you have a regular schedule you can ensure your programs and reports are updated and available to your audience.