"Breaking News" is Broken
(CBS)
When exactly did it happen? For me, it was back during the case of the DC Sniper Story. We’d had a number of murders around the beltway, and the story was a mainstay of the cable networks. Gripping drama, particularly for those of us for whom a trip to the gas station had become a stressful occasion. (The sniper liked to gun down people at filling stations, near highway ramps for quick getaways.)
One rainy morning during the drama, a cable network announced they were about to report “Breaking News” on the sniper story. I pinwheeled in my desk and stared at the TV screen. Had they caught him? Had another person been shot?
The news? The sniper had made a phone call from a pay phone off I-95. Police were running to the scene to investigate the phone. Cameras were sent, reporters did stand-ups in front of the phone. Breathless speculation filled the airwaves about ‘the meaning of the call.’
The “Breaking News” was a pay phone in Fredericksburg, Virginia. (No word on whether Larry King’s producers sought an interview with it.)
International recording artist Shakira on love, career and more.
