Breaking news is an urgent event that happens in real time, often requiring updates as more information becomes available. This type of news is important because it informs the public on matters that can affect them directly, making it a necessity to cover. Breaking news may interrupt regular programming and requires journalists to gather information quickly, relying on eyewitness accounts, official statements, and social media in order to report it as soon as possible.
The urgency of breaking news events carries with it the potential to create misinformation, which can be especially dangerous in the case of a severe weather event. Evaluate the best way to disseminate information about these types of incidents and determine what criteria should be used to decide whether a story is breaking news worthy of interrupting programming. For example, it may be helpful to have a standard set of questions that should be asked and answered in order to verify the facts, as well as a process for quickly disseminating this information.
In general, journalism is meant to provide factual and objective information that satisfies the audience’s need to know the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of newsworthy events. The style of writing is usually geared towards informing readers quickly, which is particularly critical during breaking news situations. For this reason, journalists use a short paragraph format and typically write in third person, avoiding first or second person pronouns unless there is an explicit need to do so.