Politics: How ?Breaking News? Broke the News

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Politics How "Breaking News" Broke the News Breaking news used to be "news of transcendent importance." Now it's a joke. By David Weigel Posted Friday, Apr 20, 2012, at 07:59 PM ET TMZ got the news up first, 3:30 p.m. ET. Dick Clark was dead at 82, felled by a "massive heart attack." Because I follow TMZ on Twitter, I got the newsbreak at 3:31. Because a lot of the people I follow also follow TMZ, Clark's death was announced, analyzed, and (sorry, this is Twitter) joked about for 20 minutes. At 3:52 pm, the CNN app on my iPhone blurped and announced a message: Television personality Dick Clark, the longtime host of "American Bandstand," has died, a publicist says. Two minutes later my phone shook again, startled by an alert from USA Today. BREAKING NEWS: Dick Clark legendary TV entertainer, dies at 82. Twenty-four minutes after the TMZ scoop, and this was breaking? How's that supposed to work? Does "breaking news" have any meaning anymore? Nope, almost none. I realize that the universe hardly needs another article about how social networks have Changed Everything. Sorry, universe: Facebook, Twitter, chats, and microblogs have Changed Everything. Anyone who's online can learn news before national news channels report it. The proprietors of Facebook, Twitter, and microblog accounts know this, and they abuse their power like children suddenly placed into the cockpits of battle droids. Do not judge these children, because they had terrible teachers. "Breaking news" is an old concept, codified by the Associated Press in 1906 when the wire wanted to designate "news of transcendent importance." The AP used the term "FLASH." Other news-breakers used "bulletin ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Yes, Edwards Is a Liar and Philanderer, but Nothing Good Can Come From Prosecuting Him Lithwick: There's No Such Thing as the "Women's Vote" Sarkozy Did Terribly in Sunday's Election. Is His Presidency Over?	Advertisement
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