There was no shortage of important news stories this year that effected just about everyone and will change the world going forward. The latest news comes right to our phone. The philosophy of every news organization should be, be right and be first, in that order. The use of “Breaking News” started years ago on local news broadcasts. As cable news grew, the birth of the internet and smart phones, the competition became intense, not only on the air, but on Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and others. News became a 24 hour flow of information. There was a constant need to have new and updated information no matter how insignificant. The best way to grab viewers and readers attention is to label it “Breaking News” and send alerts right to your phone, if you didn’t happen to be watching television.
The “Breaking News” monster has now taken over every newscast and Social Media posting. Even the network evening newscasts comes on at 6:30pm blasting “Breaking News” at the top of the newscast even though many of the stories have been out all day. The phrase “As we come on the air tonight…” is used to make it sound as if something is happening right at that moment, and the anchor is wide eyed and leaning into our face to make us pay attention. We are often disappointed when we hear the story because we already know much of it. We live in a hyper world, the faster the better. We can find ourselves trying to catch up. As a result, we have rendered “Breaking News” meaningless. It’s become a phony come on that diminishes our journalism.
”Breaking News” should mean something that is happening as the anchor or reporter is telling us about it. Not something that happened hours earlier. There was no greater breaking news story in our history than the Kennedy assassination. CBS News was one of the first outlets to report the shooting. It broke into the soap opera “As The World Turns”. The first bulletin was Walter Cronkite reporting over a slide. He said, “In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting.” Cronkite was serious but he spoke with a calm authority. CBS got a newsroom camera up and Cronkite was reporting in shirtsleeves from the middle of the newsroom. Someone handed him a piece of paper. “The flash, apparently official, President Kennedy died at 1pm Central Standard Time, 2 o’clock Eastern Standard Time. Some thirty-eight minutes ago.” Cronkite took his glasses off to look up at the clock and put them back on as he looked down. There was a momentary pause as Cronkite cleared his throat and gathered himself and went on reporting on Vice President Johnson’s whereabouts.
I understand that much has changed since that terrible day in how news is presented and digested. But there is a serious lesson journalism can learn about our duty to inform the public. While being right and first is important, being calm and measured under the pressure of fast moving developments is something we owe our public. They should look to us for reassurance that we will report everything we know to be accurate and not to manufacture phony drama. When news breaks, it’s our job to put the pieces back together.
Well written Mike. Sadly, much of the news today reflects too much opinion and not enough good journalism – the problem with 24/7 cable news and the not so rapid decline of print journalism. People unwilling to read anymore.