Why is it always "BREAKING NEWS" on all the news channels?

[SamAdams76]

Used to be that breaking news was a major event. You'd be sitting home watching a television show and suddenly the screen would flash "SPECIAL REPORT". At that moment, your heart would just about stop. Then you would be shown a newsroom full of typewriters going clickety clack and men with white shirts and skinny ties with their sleeves rolled up would be dashing back and forth in the background clutching sheaves of paper.

The camera would then slowly pan to a solemn news anchor as the narrator gravely intones "We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special news bulletin, now Harry Reasoner..."

By now, dishes are clattering on the kitchen floor as Mom dashes into the living room. Dad is putting down his pipe and newspaper. Little brother and sister are getting the "hush" sign.

Did a president just get shot? Did we just bomb some country? Did a country bomb us? Did Charlie Manson escape from prison? Did Martians land in New Jersey?

All those thoughts and more are rushing through your mind as you wait to hear what kind of earth-shattering event was deemed worthy of interrupting "Laverne & Shirley" or "The Love Boat" in prime time.

Only a handful of times did this happen when I was growing up. A few that I remember was when Nixon announced he was resigning. The Iranian Hostages were getting freed. A plane crashed somewhere. The lights went out in New York City and people were rioting. Elvis Presley died. John Lennon got shot. The Pope got shot.

You pretty much knew something major was up when they flashed that special report across the screen.

But it's not like that anymore. The news networks (FoxNews, CNN, etc.) have ruined the "Special Report" by claiming "Breaking News" pretty much 24/7.

Go ahead. Tune in FoxNews right now and you will likely see that "Breaking News" graphic at the bottom of the screen with scrolling text underneath it.

They ruined it. They ruined it for everybody. We are never going to experience those special heart-stopping moments again.

That all said, please don't be a wiseguy and tag this thread to Breaking News.

[chris37]

Because American news is broken.

[OneWingedShark]

Why is it always "BREAKING NEWS" on all the news channels?

Because the news is broken.

[SamAdams76]

Nice reply. And I should throw in that the local news stations can be even worse when there is a snowstorm or a tropical storm moving through the area.

A typical snowstorm here in New England will mean that the local stations go "wall-to-wall" coverage. Even when there is absolutely NOTHING going on at the moment. They will send their reporters out there to do live shots and they will do their damnedest to drum up some drama. Whether it be twisting in the wind, hanging on to their hats or warning us "not to venture outdoors", presumably so we can stay housebound watching their coverage.

I refuse to even turn on the TV when there's a winter storm raging. I just throw some wood on the fire and crack open a book to read.

[Paladin2]

The news is broken. All they tell are stories.

[cyclotic]

BREAKING NEWS gives them something to talk about between the five STORM TRACKER weather reports during a 22 minute broadcast.

[eartick]

Because it would be stupid to call it “NEWS BREAKING”

[Captainpaintball]

That is right. I didn't even think about local news, because I rarely watch that anymore.

In "Fulladullphia", Channel 10 started naming snow storms. They eventually stopped. Then to compete with the other channels' weather coverage, they named their radar doppler 10000. TEN thousand? Really? Why not name it 56 Gazillion?

Every snow "storm" news reports of food markets and interviews with "gimmedats" and other working class humanoids... milkbreadeggsmilkbreadeggsmilkbreadeggsmilkbreadeggs...

[GraceG]

The only breaking news I would give a crap about these days is an alien invasion.

But the MSM would ignore that and call them Undocumented Alpha Centarians...

[Riley]

Ha! That was me as a kid. I was a news junkie, and even when the regular programming would stop and that “Breaking News” still appeared on-screen, I almost had a stroke. Was it WW3? Aliens? Panic!!!

Yep, that's always been me. I eat information all day.

[Riley]

I refuse to even turn on the TV when there's a winter storm raging. I just throw some wood on the fire and crack open a book to read.

I can't tell you how appealing that sounds right now.

[kaehurowing]

I get all my breaking news on the Onion News Network.

http://www.theonion.com/video/breaking-news-bat-loose-in-congress,14369/

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

I think this thread belongs under ‘Breaking News’. /s

[chb]

I think they may do it to cover up their incompetence, as it gives them an excuse to blame their mistakes on the spur-of-the moment nature of the coverage.

[Jack Hydrazine]

You want to know why? Because they are grasping at straws for anything that will draw in viewership.

Collectivism is on the ropes and people are getting tired of the collectivist’s lies especially when it is so obvious that someone with an IQ of 70 can see it.

[boop]

That reminds me of living in the Midwest.

If there was a tornado watch, they'd break in with the news, then go back to programming.

Eventually they started to break in with a "severe thunderstorm watch".

Not even a warning. A watch.

It ended up being the boy who cried wolf.

What the hell are you supposed to do about a thunderstorm WATCH?

Oh Nooo!

Uh, better roll up my car windows. Or something.

[boop]

"milkbreadeggsmilkbreadeggsmilkbreadeggsmilkbreadeggs..."

LOL!

And the requisite footage of empty store shelves with no milk.

Seriously, what the HELL are you going to do with four gallons of milk?

I'd think that an average family might open a can of spaghetti-o's at some point, if they had no power.

Nobody is going to just eat cold cereal for a week.

[ExNewsExSpook]

Where did this come from? Simple answer: focus groups. Various news consultants determined that such terms as “special report” and “news bulletin” meant nothing to younger audiences. So, they had to come up with something that would persuade people to stay tuned, particularly younger viewers. So, they tested “breaking news” and found that phrase worked best.

The first place I ever saw “breaking news” used was on FNC. If Fox was the first with that term, it also served another purpose, to help differentiate the channel from its competitors.

There is very little in TV news that hasn’t been carefully researched and planned, from the sets and number of stories, to the anchors who read the news. “We Report, You Decide,” the phrase that helped launch FNC was selected after a lot of market research and focus group review.

[ExNewsExSpook]

I grew up in the Mid-South, one of the regions that helped popularize the so-called “weather-gasm,” i.e., non-stop coverage of severe weather. News consultants and station managers discovered that a local station that goes wall-to-wall with weather coverage sees at least a 15% boost in ratings.

And, if you’re lucky to have a meteorologist who’s a market icon, like Dave Brown in Memphis, or James Spann in Birmingham, the numbers go through the roof. Mr. Spann was one of the first staffers hired when Albritton began building the ABC affiliate in Birmingham, and Mr. Brown has ruled the roost in Memphis for over 30 years.

It’s debatable how much info the public actually receives from non-stop coverage. I’ve watched more than a few local mets who do nothing more than play with their doppler radars, looking for couplets that might indicate a possible tornado. Stations that have an experienced met who knows severe weather (and can reliably interpret radar data) is the right person to lead the coverage, and it helps to have people in the field with expertise as well.

In my travels around the country, I’ve watched coverage in a lot of markets, and Oklahoma City is probably the best, for obvious reasons. Severe weather is a huge story out there, and the local stations compete fiercely to deliver the best coverage.

[Inyo-Mono]

Seriously, what the HELL are you going to do with four gallons of milk?

When my kids were little, we used to go through six gallons of milk a week.

[berdie]

As weird as this sounds...your post made me feel better. Looks like you are in New England where snow is a regular event. I get really bored with the “snow/ice storm show” when that occurs here, where it is not the norm.

In relation to your original question re: Breaking News...heck...if all there is news all day, every day...how else will they keep people’s attention? :)