Breaking news is quick, on-the-spot information to inform the public about a situation or event that is unfolding. However, with breaking news comes errors. As the story develops, events leading up to and after the incident tend to change and become more developed.
Breaking news is messy. Plain and simple. In this video below shows the breaking news coverage over the radio of President John F. Kennedy's Assassination. As you watch it, you will see all the mistakes made during the rush of this breaking news story.
When there is a rush of information coming in there is a chance that the information can be wrong. Take the Sandy Hook Coverage for example. When the news first came out, the name of the gunman was wrong, the mother's occupation was wrong, and so was the details about the children who got killed was incorrect. At first glance, it seemed as if the information that was given was correct. A police officer found an Id and automatically thought that was the name of the shooter. It is understandable considering the evidence is right there on the floor. However, that Id ended giving false information. The mother of the shooter didn't work at the school. Throughout the article above Andrew Beaujon, a reporter on the media on poynter.com and a previous managing editor of the Washington City Paper, writes about the issues with the breaking news reports from Sandy Hook.
Should breaking news be held back long enough to find out some solid details? If so, how long is a reporter supposed to wait? And if there is waiting, would be still be considered breaking news? Is there a certain All these questions should be taken into consideration when covering a story that is unfolding in front of your eyes.
Breaking news updates are great to have to keep the public updated while things are unfolding. However, people should take it into account that the details can change in a story and the breaking news version isn't always the right version.
Social media gives journalists the ability to upload breaking news at a quicker pace. Breaking news mistakes have been happening throughout the decades. Even though with Twitter and Facebook distribute the breaking news at a faster speed, doesn't necessarily mean that it is not appropriate to use in the journalism field.
Mathew Ingram a senior reporter for GigaOm.com, a blog that is one of the top leading technology blog in the United States, brings to light that critics have come down on the inaccuracy that social media has had on journalism. Critics are implying that social media is not an appropriate forum for journalism. However, Ingram thinks differently. He believes that "this is the way journalism works now, and we better get used to it."
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