Breaking News: It Is Really The News

The very word news is replete with connotations of negative. Yet, news is what someone somewhere needs, badly, right now. All the rest is commercial advertising, when a news story is published, and in print or on television or radio. (starved-cattle, famine, revolution, war) (George W. Bush, quoted in the National Geographic magazine, March 2021)

But the very things that make news – breaking news – make it worthy and powerful. When a nation’s capital was evacuated during the threat of a deadly hurricane and three major US presidents held emergency meetings while thousands of people were forced to evacuate their cities – these are major newsworthy events weather experts and media outlets should report. The same was true when CBS News published graphic images of looters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina destroying homes and businesses – this is breaking news, as the world watched the devastation and heartache of millions of residents of the Gulf Coast state.

And when an airline company finally begins to reveal the extent of damage and destruction it caused at the World’s busiest airport – the news will draw international attention. In short, news can be the most important event that occurs in a community, city or nation every day. (see also: Hurricane Ivan, News-sources.) Indeed, for the better news is always better than non-news: the breaking news is just as relevant and just as valuable – and the best thing about the news is that it happens.