Breaking News Why do we call it this? By Deane Barker • This term will go away when traditional TV goes away, because it means that news is so important that the TV networks “break” into normal programming Why I Looked It Up CNN still uses the phrase “breaking news” on its website title. I got to wondering where it came from. When I was reminded off it, I felt a little dumb, because I grew up on network TV, and I understood the concept.