Breaking news is a story of current events that are developing quickly. It could be a plane crash, fire or natural disaster, but is often about something unexpected that hasn’t yet been widely reported. Because of this, breaking news is always the most exciting and unpredictable to cover, but also the most difficult to get right. In the rush to be first, even respected news outlets sometimes report incorrect information. The best way to avoid mistakes is to confirm all sources and never speculate.
A good breaking news lead should be able to tell readers the most important details about the event in an interesting and compelling way. A classic inverted pyramid structure works well here: the lead should answer the questions who, what, when, where and why. Facts that are related to the story but not essential should be relegated to supporting information and placed elsewhere in the article. Including unessential information in the lead slows the story down and can push readers away from it.
In the United States, a national network news broadcast will interrupt its non-news programming or regular newscasts to cover breaking news events. This is usually signaled by a countdown sequence and music cue, followed by the news anchor who introduces the story at hand. Breaking news stories may be accompanied by an alert ticker during regularly scheduled programming, but in some cases a network will create a special news segment called “Special Report” or “Newsflash,” which allows the breaking news to be aired outside of the normal schedule without interrupting other shows.
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