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I was just wondering what the origins of "breaking news" or "we broke the story" are.

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3 Answers

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The word breaking in this context means to

undergo a change or enter a new state, in particular ... of news or a scandal [NOAD]

Etymonline has this interesting tidbit to offer about break:

Meaning "to disclose" is from mid-15c.

That meaning is the flip side of the way you used it, and it is a transitive verb: "He broke the news to me that .." I believe that got modified to "breaking news" by extension.

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up vote 0 down vote

Breaking news here means that it is new.

We can say 'the breaking of day' or 'morning broke' meaning that it is the start of this event.

'We broke the story' means we caused it to become a new event by being the first to spread it.

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Thanks, but I understand what it means, I'm just wondering why it came to be called breaking. – Fred Apr 3 '11 at 12:31
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"Breaking" news, is "fresh" news that is happening AS WE SPEAK. We "broke" the story, means, we caught "it as it was happening" (Think of "breaking new ground.")

In English grammar, it is a reference to the "present progressive" tense.

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