It doesn't count as breaking news if you've announced it a day before

The BBQ Pit
1

The time: About 5:00am earlier today

The scene: Me lying in bed trying (rather unsuccessfully) to go to sleep. I finally give up and turn the TV on, watching the early morning news.

After about 20 minutes into the newscast, they put the big “breaking news” banner up, with the special breaking news music. What happened? Did California just break off and start floating in the ocean? Did a train run into a bus? Was someone going two MPH over the speed limit?

Nope. The terror alert level was expected to be lowered to yellow. It wasn’t actually lowered at the time, just expected. Big fucking deal. Wasn’t that the exact same thing you announced last night? Hell, didn’t you announce it before in the same newscast, but without the “breaking news” banner? Why does it diserve the banner the second time, but not the first?

Why stop there? I can see numerous other ways for you to get use out of your breaking news banner:

Breaking news: Bill Clinton no longer president
Breaking news: Man travels to the moon
Breaking news: Earth no longer burning hot ball, experts expect it to be able to support life
Breaking news: Universe created

Really, what’s the point of the breaking news banner if you’re just going to insert it wherever you feel like putting it?

2

And in other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

3

I do think it’s clever how Infotainers use this ‘breaking news’ device to exploit several characteristics of human nature at once; the ‘rubber necking’ inclination for voyeurism, the need-to-be-first-to-tell-the-neighbours (or whoever), the shiny, exciting, sensationalism of real-time drama - with rolling ticker tape, the schadenfreude, etc; . . . It’s almost compulsive watching. Smart exploitation.

Unfortunately, it never seems to be quality journalism.
London still-sticking-with-radio-but-just Calling

4

I agree - they need to be careful with the breaking news’s.

I jump at these things the minute I get them in E-mail. I got one Tuesday morning 9/11/01 about WTC and decided to bugger out of the Pentagon sooner rather than later…little voice inside my head, etc.

So, I am pretty pissed when they are previously-known or less-than-important things.