Breaking news

How it is used

Seen on TV banners, website labels and push alerts. Newsrooms switch to breaking news mode, interrupt programmes and update stories constantly. Early details in breaking news are often unconfirmed, so careful wording matters.

Example sentences

1. We have breaking news: a fire has broken out at the city's main train station.

2. In breaking news situations, we publish a short version first and update it every few minutes.

Common collocations

• breaking news alert
• breaking news coverage
• breaking news banner
• this just in

Related terms

• news storyA single piece of reporting about a recent event or issue, published in print or online or broadcast on radio or television.
• live blogA single web page that a news site updates continuously during a developing event, adding short timed posts, quotes, photos and videos.
• follow-upA new story that reports later developments of an event already covered, such as the results of an investigation or how people's lives changed.
• verifyTo check carefully that information, a photo, a video or a source is real and true before you use or publish it.

More terms: Reporting and News Writing

• journalist
• reporter
• coverage
• correspondent
• byline
• lead
• beat
• newsworthy
• inverted pyramid
• the five Ws
• angle