This past Wednesday, December 30th, 2015, many television sets were interrupted due to "breaking news." Channels from ABC to NBC broke into their scheduled broadcasts to announce the criminal charging of Bill Cosby on the account of sexual assault.
At the first sound of a reporter's voice declaring, “we are interrupting this broadcast to bring you breaking news…” one could only jump to the worst such as a terrorist attack or natural disaster coming our way. The human mind jumps to fear because usually "breaking news" comes with information of warning or danger.
As an avid consumer of televised news, I was somewhat disappointed with this report. Celebrities’ lives seem to have become so important to our society that their arrests are now considered important enough to cut in on scheduled shows. Sexual assault is an ongoing problem, especially on college campuses. But when was the last time you saw a college student’s arrest, due to sexual assault, break into telecasts?
This was the first criminal charge against Cosby, as other issues were resolved outside of court. He is charged with sexual assault with a $1 million bail.Cosby confessed to drugging women for sex in 2005.Many women came out as to say they were raped by Cosby, these sexual encounters happening 10-20 years ago. In the previous scandals, no hard evidence could be found to prove him guilty. Cosby also continues to deny all reports of rape.
With this being said, it is still astounding to me that celebrities' personal lives have become 'breaking news' to our generation. Bruce Jenner's gender change came with reports of 'breaking news.'
Which is where we are left with the question, what makes a news story significant enough to be 'breaking?' Maybe stories that bring near danger, stories of government officials, or new scientific ideas.
Maybe 'breaking news' has lost is luster as society's interests turn more to pop culture rather than other subjects like science and philosophy. Did you know 4 new elements were added to the periodic table? Probably not, because you were hearing about Donald Trump's provocative campaign approach. The relevance of the news is switching over to one filled with drama and glamor. News is a forever changing and evolving source that is being transformed in a way that may take the worthiness and meaning out of news. Our generation is redefining 'breaking news,' for better or worse?
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