Breaking news, synonymous with headlines and known as a regular report or regular news or special report, is generally a current matter that networks feel warrants the cancellation of normal programming or long-planned programming to cover its facts. When breaking news happens, normally there is some type of dramatic twist on the tale, and often includes a death or major medical event. Although it is most often considered a negative for television networks, it can actually help sell advertising in a time of need. A network may have an opportunity to move a slot due to a breaking story, but it must be certain that they will be able to successfully market the slot after the original airing.
The term “breaking news” itself brings to mind one of the first major uses for this form of television media: live coverage of a major event or occurrence. The modern television set has made this type of coverage possible by the widespread use of satellite television systems. The invention of the satellite system changed the way that news was delivered to viewers, and now news from around the world can be quickly and easily reported by viewers simply by tuning into their televisions. These same advancements have led to the increased use of news as entertainment for many viewers, whether it is through news broadcasts on the evening news program or clips from prime time television programming.
For newspapers, a version of breaking news is often called wire news bulletins. Breaking news bulletins will often contain a wide variety of breaking news stories, which are delivered by wire services other media organizations. Wire services include such outlets as AP, CNET, and USA Today. Although not always having breaking stories, wire services will frequently feature stories of note of national interest and controversy. These stories often gain a wide readership among the general public and then spread significantly throughout various news organizations and media outlets, increasing the overall coverage.
In some cases, cable news channels will provide a segment dedicated exclusively to breaking stories. These special reports often come from various news channels or affiliates, but are produced and presented in a unique way to keep viewers interested in the coverage. A great example of this is The Oprah Winfrey Show. The show will often air a one of a kind special report on the upcoming date of a major political event or global event, along with a segment dedicated to highlighting the special features of the report and what the implications could be if the event occurs.
In some cases, a special report segment on the Oprah Winfrey Show will air completely opposite from the regular programming that occurs on the show. The special report will focus on a local story, often a local story that the audience may not normally have seen. This segment will often contain information that the audience may not normally encounter in daily newspaper headlines, which makes the story more interesting. Viewers that tune into the Oprah Winfrey show are willing to sit through both segments in order to obtain this type of specialized information.
There are many other options for the viewer when it comes to obtaining breaking news coverage that is not regularly provided by major news outlets. While the general public is constantly searching for breaking news reports on local newshounds that they can listen to on the radio, they also want to be able to read these reports from sources that are not immediately recognizable to them. Online media sources often provide readers with information that is not necessarily based on the date and time of the report itself, but rather on the general topic or situation at hand. A great example of this would be the blogosphere, where readers get breaking stories from well-respected bloggers and experts across the board, often times from places that are not located within the same geographic region as the reader. News outlets and bloggers are only one way in which readers are finding information about breaking news that is not typically provided by traditional media outlets.