It seems like almost every television news channel has “breaking news.” One local channel reported a breaking news weather alert long after the storm was over. A popular cable channel was still running a breaking news alert about a celebrity eight hours after the breaking news first broke.
Now hold on here, just how long can breaking news break? Is there a time limit?
If breaking news is red hot new news, and several hour old news is just “news,” then is day old news “olds?”
Maybe we should define the difference between new breaking news and old breaking news. Oh, wait, news is supposed to be “new,” so if breaking news is new news, is it really breaking news or just news? If we called old breaking news something like “Recent News,” it would kind of lose it’s dramatic appeal and just be old news. But then old news is not news at all, it’s just stuff that happened in the recent past.
I wonder when breaking news becomes history. You know, too old to be breaking news or even news at all. I guess “breaking history” won’t work in a scrolling banner across the bottom to the TV screen.
What about breaking news that is reported over and over and over until we are all sick of it. Would that be considered “persistent update” news or PU for short?
Well, all this is just too confusing for me. I’m going to go watch Spongebob.
Alas, where is Walter Cronkite when you really need him?!
P.S. January 17, 2008 -- Go here for a Broom Hilda cartoon giggle about "Breaking News."
© Copyright 2007 Suzzwords
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The fink not only is retired, but he is sailing. Isn't he?
ReplyDeleteHi Suzz, not only is the news breaking.... most of it has already broken.
ReplyDeleteI hear you Suzz. As far as I'm concerned....sometimes NO NEWS, is good news. Give us a BREAK!
ReplyDeleteSuzz You hit the nail on the head with your breaking news.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder if one day we will hear this
"World coming to an end at 10:30PM .
Details at 11."
;)
Suzz, I am every bit as frustrated as you. Annoyed is what I am when two hours prior to six o'clock they offer a 'news update' for the six o'clock news that hasn't even been broadcasted yet.
ReplyDeleteAnd all the time they spend letting me know what will be on later on the news. What is that for? That time could be used to tell me news if this is a news broadcast.
The whole format of the news is for the birds -- or should I say for celebs and non-events in their lives that none of us give a hoot about.
My favorite news is the type they announce the night before, telling you to be sure and tune in the next day when they'll tell you.
ReplyDeleteRight on the mark as usual! My peeve is the people news media choose as news-worthy. Do I care whether O.J. Simpson or Barry Bonds or Paris Hilton do something idiotic? Does it impact my life? Nope. PU. Or PO (push OFF on the remote).
ReplyDelete