Assignment Two - Breaking News Updates Over a 24 - Hour Period

 This Just In

Every big story deserves to be covered, and the people deserve to know information in a timely and affective manner. Thus, we have "breaking news". In a period where information is everything and knowledge is power, breaking news is an exciting normalcy for the world. Breaking News is defined as "information that is being received and broadcast about an event that has just happened or just begun." Whether it is a large storm, a presidential announcement, or simply which star just got a divorce, new news is breaking news. 

In the past week the country has been buzzing about a large hurricane set to make landfall in Louisiana, leaving towns flooded and families without homes. This is prime information to make breaking news, as it is constantly changing and its information that must be told as it comes in. While the storm had been tracked for days in advance, the night before to the day of was prime time for breaking news. Leading up to the storm, coverage showed how the storm was progressing, wind speeds, rainfall, and the direction its heading. For the first couple of hours as the storm hits landfall, reporters stand amongst the storm and update as the rain comes down and the winds pick up, many of them bracing themselves to stay in one spot. They then move to shelter to continue reporting for hours on end. These reporters are key for breaking news. In fact, there are even job titles referred to as breaking news reporters. These individuals are found to have excellent written and verbal communications skills and must be able to work quickly and effectively. The efficiency of the reporters themselves paired with the networks rally together to bring the world timely breaking news.

In a world where we want information fast and things are always changing, breaking news has become a normalcy we expect whenever big things are happening. Whether it is a huge storm making landfall or fires breaking out across the country, we are always informed in a timely and affective manner so we can react accordingly. Breaking news can tell us if we need to hunker down, evacuate, or if we are safe to go on with out day to day activities. Journalists risk their lives in large storms and spend days away from home to get ahead of a story to keep us in the know, and networks support them by sending their message nation wide. All of this together brings us breaking news.