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During 23 years with the BBC, and a 40 year journalistic career (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry always believed that the label ‘BREAKING NEWS’ should only be employed rarely, but the next few weeks are likely to see it used ever more frequently on stories critics consider boring, with already news that Rishi Sunak says he can “deliver a secure future” given in this way.
I warn you we’ll see the label ‘BREAKING NEWS’ all the time now the election has been called for July 4, on fatuous and humdrum stories.
This won’t be meant in a humorous way (see story tomorrow) either – it will be deadly serious.
Within less than 24 hours of Rishi Sunak calling the election, we had the UK’s biggest broadcaster (the BBC) giving in this way information that he has claimed to the corporation he can “deliver a secure future”!
The local elections were no different.
To give you an idea, we had: “Breaking News PM needs to own terrible election results and change course, former home secretary Suella Braverman tells BBC – follow live”.
I’m afraid it bears repeating (you may have seen this before), that I was always taught as a journalist the label should be used only sparingly, and even then in just giving significant information.
The reason is that otherwise the stories will lose their value, and people might not bother to look at them, thinking: “Oh they say this all the time, but it doesn’t mean anything…”. Journalism is therefore seen as worthless by everybody.
Yet now you seem to see ANYTHING given as ‘BREAKING NEWS’, and the election ‘stories’ before July 4 will only serve to underline this fact, because they are likely to come after a succession of absurd uses of the phrase.
Ridiculously boring ‘stories’, such as them not being able to do a ‘soft’ lunar landing, an upsurge of violence in South America, and a politician making a completely vacuous comment on television, have all been offered as ‘BREAKING NEWS’.
The first one is, unfortunately, fairly typical of this kind of nonsense. It was declared in the ‘report’: ‘A US lunar lander has “no chance” of making a soft landing on the Moon due to a fuel leak, the company behind the mission says. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic said there was enough propellant to operate its Peregrine lander as a spacecraft’.
It was ‘BREAKING NEWS’ that Lord Cameron had said to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “We are prepared to back our words with actions”, and on the same show, came further ‘BREAKING NEWS’ that Sir Keir Starmer had proclaimed he would consider supporting further action “on its merits”.
Meanwhile the BBC had ‘reported’ as well: “BREAKING NEWS Post Office boss Nick Read to face MP’s questions over scandal…”.
It was ‘BREAKING NEWS’ that armed men had broken into a television studio in Ecuador.
That day we also had from them: BREAKING NEWS Fujitsu’s global chief executive tells BBC the firm is sorry…”.
The organisation gave us more ‘BREAKING NEWS’ one week declaring: “Oppenheimer leads Bafta Film Award nominations with 13…”.
Then there’s Royal news. The BBC published on the same day: “Breaking News: Prince William visits his wife Kate in hospital after she had abdominal surgery”.
But these are only a few examples, because there have been many more.
A completely bland statement from a company or anonymous ‘celebrity’ – ‘BREAKING NEWS’. A totally empty comment by a person in the headlines which gives NO new information whatsoever – ‘BREAKING NEWS‘. The result of, or evidence given in, a pretty standard court case – ‘BREAKING NEWS‘.
Another instance came as Vladimir Putin started a news conference, and I received an ‘urgent’ news update that his war aims were “unchanged”.
It was ‘BREAKING NEWS‘ supposedly, that: ‘Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Russians that peace with Ukraine will only take place “when we achieve our objectives”.
A few hours later we also had from the giant corporation as ‘BREAKING NEWS‘ – “LIVE ‘High probability’ Gaynor Lord went into Norwich river – police”.
On that same day there was, too, the result of a court case in Scotland, which was reported, of course, as ‘BREAKING NEWS‘.
It was seemingly very important we were told that: “Two men and a woman have been found guilty of the murder of a schoolgirl in West Dunbartonshire more than 27 years ago. The ‘BREAKING NEWS’ report added excitedly: “The body of Caroline Glachan, 14, was discovered on the banks of the River Leven in Renton on 25 August 1996”.
But it isn’t just news like the Gaynor Lord tragedy which is published as ‘Breaking News’ – sports stories too can have this treatment.
Recently we heard as ‘BREAKING NEWS’ from the BBC that Everton and Nottingham Forest had both been charged with breaching financial rules.
On the day of the Scottish story, we were also offered an ‘urgent’ sports update by them (as well as from other media outlets), about a woman referee taking charge of a football match.
Reporters stated as ‘BREAKING NEWS‘: “Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee for a Premier League fixture when she officiates Fulham’s match against Burnley on 23 December”.
Two days later we were given as ‘BREAKING NEWS’ information about the UK’s entry for Eurovision.
It was seemingly vital that we were told: “Pop star Olly Alexander will represent the United Kingdom at (the) Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden”.
The ‘BREAKING NEWS‘ report continued: “The former Years and Years frontman will hope to improve on the UK’s disappointing performance … when Mae Muller came second to last”.
Perhaps politicians kissing babies, will also be given by the BBC as ‘Breaking News’.
Here’s one they should use: “BREAKING NEWS – Phil Parry’s neighbour has gone to vote”…
Details including the REAL stories Phil has covered in his long journalistic career, as he was gripped by the rare neurological condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order it now!
Regrettably publication of another book, however, was refused, because it was to have included names.
Tomorrow – how during that career, he has reported on innumerable elections and there were invariably amusing incidents in them which rarely made headlines, and this is likely to be the case too during the 2024 campaign.
