Breaking news

The format of a special report or breaking news event on broadcast television commonly consists of the following: When a news event warrants an interruption of current non-news programming (or, in some cases, regularly scheduled newscasts), the broadcaster will usually alert all of its affiliates via an internal alert/message service telling them to stand by for the interruption. After some time, the network's feed will suddenly switch to a reverse countdown, usually from 5 seconds, to allow any affiliated stations to switch to the network feed (television stations typically do not provide these countdowns for local coverage, merely leading with a graphic and voiceover announcing the cut-in). If a national network newscast is in progress when the breaking news event occurs, the newscast will pause temporarily to allow other network affiliates to join the feed. There is then an opening graphic, featuring music (such as NBC's "The Pulse of Events", composed by John Williams) which adds an emphasis on the importance of the event. The open is followed by the introduction of a news anchor, who welcomes the viewer to the broadcast and introduces the story at hand. Lower thirds and other graphics may also be altered to convey a sense of urgency.

Once the story is introduced, the network or local station may, if possible, choose to continue to show a live shot of the anchor or may cut away to video or images of the story that is being followed during the broadcast. Additionally, the coverage may be passed to a reporter at the location of the breaking event, possibly sharing more information about the story as it breaks.

Depending on the story being followed, the report may last only a few minutes, or continue for multiple hours – or with the longest uninterrupted news events, for days at a time –(events in which the latter instances has occurred include the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the September 11 attacks, which took place between November 22–26, 1963 and September 11–15, 2001, respectively). If coverage continues for an extended amount of time, the network may integrate analysis about the story through analysts in-studio, via phone, satellite, broadband (B-GAN) or through other means of communication. Depending on the severity of the event, regular commercial advertising may be suspended entirely for sustained coverage. Network affiliates will be required to insert their station identification in at the top of the hour overlaid during the report rather than through the usual means of a station imaging promo or program reminder.

If a story occurs during the early fringe timeslot and depending on the magnitude of the events at hand, local stations might be given the opportunity to break away from the network feed and begin their evening newscasts. This is set up by a cue from the network's talent that they will pause for a few seconds to reset coverage, at which point an opening graphic may be rolled again. Information is also disseminated from an internal alert service utilized by a station's master control. After the local newscast, stations will likely return to the network's feed as they normally would for the network newscast, but they may be joining in on an "extended edition." Whether or not a station will take over for local news is usually the choice of that station's news director.

When the coverage comes to a close, the network or station may either resume programming that was occurring before the event or begin new programming (if the breaking news happens during a newscast the network will switch back to the newscast upon completion if time permits), depending upon the amount of time spent on the coverage. The anchor will usually remind viewers to check the network's website (or that of the station, if coverage is provided locally), or watch any cable news channels that may be co-owned with the network for more information. If the story breaks during daytime or late-night programming, the anchor will usually remind viewers that there will be or might be more details on their local news that day and a full wrap-up on the network's evening news program or the network's morning news program, depending on the time that it aired. In most cases, regular daytime and late-night programming is re-joined in progress, and segments may be missed. Since the digital television transition, however, viewing options have increased. Regularly scheduled syndicated daytime programs are usually moved to a station's auxiliary digital subchannel, airing in conjunction with the breaking news coverage on the station's main signal, especially in the case of severe weather coverage.

If the event occurs during prime time, the anchor will usually remind viewers that there will be more details on their late local newscast and on the network's overnight news program (if applicable) the next morning. Programming at this time is either joined in progress or started back up at the point of the interruption, depending on whether the program is new to air, highly rated, or has time left in its time slot to finish airing. For instance, ABC's breaking news report involving the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike took into account a new episode of the series Scandal, where the show was resumed right at the point of interruption twice in the Eastern and Central time zones for those reports. NBC's coverage featured the low-rated The Blacklist: Redemption in the Eastern and Central time zones joined in the middle of an episode in progress after their special report without any of that consideration. In either of the above instances, network (and in some cases, for local stations, syndicated) programs that have segments not aired or are pre-empted in their entirety by breaking news reports – particularly those that extend to or longer than 20 or 45 minutes, depending on the length of the previously scheduled program – may have to be rescheduled to air at a later time.

While most news events warrant interruption with little warning, certain anticipated events allow networks to schedule pre-emptions of regular programming days and sometimes weeks in advance. For example, events connected to the impeachment proceedings of Presidents of the United States can allow for a block of network and/or local programming (usually during the mid-to-late-morning hours) to be pre-empted for coverage of hearings, trials, press conferences, etc. Because of this advanced planning, local affiliates can notify their viewers of these future interruptions of regular programming and can advise them of other airtimes. Special topical graphics may also be created specifically for these events.

Some events, like State of the Union addresses and presidential debates, are purposefully scheduled to start at the top of the hour during prime time. Under those circumstances, regularly scheduled network programming is not scheduled. If there is sufficient time (generally 60 minutes or more) remaining in prime time, the network will carry a non-critical buffer program (usually a procedural sitcom or drama rerun for a show which doesn't require week-to-week plot continuity). However, if there is insufficient time remaining for any prime-time programs, the special report will continue with analysis until the network affiliates begin airing their late local newscasts.

In the United States, on days when presidential elections (and since the mid-2000s, the midterm elections) take place, no regularly scheduled prime-time programming airs so that networks can air up-to-the-minute coverage of the elections, and can air as late as into the graveyard slot leading into local morning newscasts the next morning. Likewise, regularly scheduled daytime programs are suspended during coverage of presidential inaugurations. However, during those types of events, regular commercial advertising is shown. Similar procedures are enacted for elections or political inaugurations that take place in other countries.

On radio, the process of a breaking news story is somewhat the same, though some different considerations are made for the medium. For instance, a breaking news theme is required by default to have an urgent tenor and be used only for the purpose of true breaking news or bulletins. This is obvious on the local all-news radio stations owned by Entercom (formerly owned by CBS Radio), which very rarely use a breaking news theme for all but the most urgent and dire of breaking news, and is purposefully structured to give a sense of attention for the listener, almost sounding like an alarm. For local events, continuous coverage may be imposed, or else the station may wait until they have a reporter at the scene and will promise more details of the event as they become available.

National news that is broadcast over a radio network requires constant monitoring by station employees to allow the network coverage to air, although many stations will take the 'urgent' signal sent by the network and break into programming immediately. Again, continuous coverage from a national radio network depends on the severity of the event, and often the network may just pass down the coverage by their local affiliate with spare commentary by the network's anchors.

Other considerations are made also; FM music stations rarely relay breaking news unless it is an event of grave national concern, though local weather warnings are relayed when in effect (either in the form of updates provided by an on-staff anchor, a disc jockey, or the on-air staffer handing all station operations in an overnight period, an emergency alert system or through an audio simulcast of a television station which maintains a contractual partnership with a radio outlet). Less urgent events allow a network to feed updates to stations at:20, 30 and:50 minutes after the hour to give a summary of events. Stations are also careful about what stories are relayed during play-by-play broadcasts of professional and college sports, as those are the programs most listened to on the radio, so there, breaking news coverage is often limited to only commercial breaks.