NBC's cash-strapped 'Breaking News' app & social media feeds to shut down this week

Posted:
in iPhone edited December 2016
NBC is pulling the plug on its Breaking News service that feeds the eponymous iOS app on Dec. 31, and is leaving 9.5 million followers on Twitter in the dark as well.




On Dec. 8, NBC announced plans to cease all operations of the news aggregator that employed 20 people in Chicago, New York, London, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

"We're true believers of news that isn't designed for clicks, but a service that helps people and companies make smarter, safer decisions." said the service's co-founder and General Manager Cory Bergman. "As we discovered, such a model doesn't fit with advertising, and despite a surge of interest in our premium data, the money has run out."

NBC says that the staff will remain at the company until the end of January, if no work is found for them elsewhere within the company.

"Despite its consumer appeal, Breaking News has not been able to generate enough revenue to sustain itself," wrote Nick Ascheim, senior vice president of digital for NBC News in a memo to staff announcing the shutdown. "We have therefore made the hard decision to close its operations so that we can re-invest that funding into NBC News' core digital products."

Ascheim claims that NBC will attempt to incorporate the best of Breaking News' features into other NBC News products. To date, the inclusion does not appear to have happened.

The Breaking News service was founded in 2007, utilizing nascent social media venues to discover, confirm, and spread emergent news situations. It originally relied on tips from over 300 news organizations, and claims to drive around 200,000 clicks a day on links it publishes.

NBC ultimately picked up the service and domain, with completion of the deal in 2010 for an undisclosed sum.

The iOS app was last updated on Dec. 9. Recent review of the app mourn the impending loss of the service, citing its prompt identification of issues of global concern, with no editorializing.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    Good. It was likely heavily slanted and provided little real value. 
    hike1272MacProSpamSandwichmacgui
  • Reply 2 of 34
    Does anyone know a good alternative?
  • Reply 3 of 34
    Never heard of the app until a few weeks ago and would have never used it. Trusting NBC to tell me the truth stopped being high on my list several years ago.
    hike1272SpamSandwich
  • Reply 4 of 34
    News isn't slanted. The reader is.

    Breaking news was a wonderful source of news. Not political propaganda. I'll miss this app when it closes. Would gladly of paid for it. 
    Notsofastmobirdhike1272SpamSandwichStacyD
  • Reply 5 of 34
    jr_bjr_b Posts: 64member
    There's no money to be made in pushing news that isn't propaganda, fake or gossip.
    lkrupphike1272SpamSandwichStacyDtokyojimu
  • Reply 6 of 34
    Does anyone know a good alternative?
    I like Daily Mail 
    owlboyRayz2016bestkeptsecret
  • Reply 7 of 34
    A good alternative in my eyes would be one that did the same thing breaking news did, and that is linking out to various news sources instead of just one site.

    I know I followed it originally before the NBC buyout because of that. I didn't just want a single companies feed.
  • Reply 8 of 34
    Does anyone know a good alternative?
    Smoke signals?  A local homeless person?  Anyone who has not watched news in the 20 years or so?  Anyone one of those sources would be better that the garbage they spewed. 

    Sorry
    hike1272SpamSandwich
  • Reply 9 of 34
    razormaid said:
    Does anyone know a good alternative?
    Smoke signals?  A local homeless person?  Anyone who has not watched news in the 20 years or so?  Anyone one of those sources would be better that the garbage they spewed. 

    Sorry
    The "garbage" they spewed were from different news sources and social media. About as unbiased as you can get. Again, news isn't biased. The reader is. 
    hike1272SpamSandwichStacyD
  • Reply 10 of 34
    rnb2rnb2 Posts: 63member
    The abject ignorance being exhibited here is galling, and obviously comes from people who have never actually used the app (and one who apparently used to, but made an incorrect assumption after the NBC purchase).

    As the story states, the most recent reviews on the App Store are mourning the loss of the app because it pulled from many sources around the world, and didn't editorialize at all. It didn't just link to NBC after the purchase - how could it, when it was literally a Breaking News app? NBC didn't break every story domestically, let alone world-wide, so relying on NBC wouldn't have made sense.

    I will certainly miss it, as it was a consistent source of world-wide news that I otherwise would not have seen.
    mobirdchris_caStacyDbuzdots
  • Reply 11 of 34
    mobirdmobird Posts: 758member
    This app provided unadulterated news with no agenda or biases. It was a realistic source of "Breaking  News". NBC owned it but it's reporting was legitimate.
    edited December 2016 buzdots
  • Reply 12 of 34
    ktappektappe Posts: 824member
    Good. It was likely heavily slanted and provided little real value. 
    It was no such thing and was quite useful to pop up news on my phone and iPad. I know most local stations have Twitter or other news alerts but they tell me someome got hit by a car 50 miles away...I don't care! But BreakingNews was truly useful. It will be missed.
  • Reply 13 of 34
     with no editorializing.
    Editorializing?
    Quote
    to express a personal opinion, especially when you should be giving a report of the facts only

    A news site should only give the facts plus a bity of journalistic interpretation unless a piece is clearly shown as an Editorial.
    I guess too much 'Editorializing' gets you to ... say Fox News where IMHO truth is often thin on the ground.

    With no editorizing then you get a dull place. When everyone these days seems to crave to be entertained perhaps that is why it failed.
    Personally, I think that 'editoriaizing' is a stupid word and one that I'd never use in a decade of sundays.




  • Reply 14 of 34
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Good. It was likely heavily slanted and provided little real value. 
    "Likely?
    So you never even read it?
  • Reply 15 of 34
    Good. It was likely heavily slanted and provided little real value. 
    Dumbest comment of the day.... It's likely you never even used the app and just making a stupid comment. 
    StacyD
  • Reply 16 of 34
    News isn't slanted. The reader is.

    Breaking news was a wonderful source of news. Not political propaganda. I'll miss this app when it closes. Would gladly of paid for it. 
    Who do you think writes the "news"?
    People you describe as "readers".
    NBC "News" is one of the broadcast originators and leaders of Fake News.
    Look at their Fake News stories in the 1900's: the exploding Ford truck, the exploding watermelon story are just two of their "Crown Jewels".
  • Reply 17 of 34
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member
    Does anyone know a good alternative?
    I like Daily Mail 
    Yes, its paper is very absorbent I hear.
    edited December 2016 SpamSandwich
  • Reply 18 of 34
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member

    mobird said:
    This app provided unadulterated news with no agenda or biases. It was a realistic source of "Breaking  News". NBC owned it but it's reporting was legitimate.
    Sadly we live in an era where "unadulterated news with no agenda or biases" and 'legitimate reporting' are considered 'slanted' by those of a certain persuasion.
    HTS
  • Reply 19 of 34
    sandorsandor Posts: 668member
    razormaid said:
    Does anyone know a good alternative?
    Smoke signals?  A local homeless person?  Anyone who has not watched news in the 20 years or so?  Anyone one of those sources would be better that the garbage they spewed. 

    Sorry
    The "garbage" they spewed were from different news sources and social media. About as unbiased as you can get. Again, news isn't biased. The reader is. 
    facts aren't biased, but the presentation of them can be greatly so. news is the presentation. yes, news can be biased.
    SpamSandwichHTS
  • Reply 20 of 34
    hike1272 said:
    News isn't slanted. The reader is.

    Breaking news was a wonderful source of news. Not political propaganda. I'll miss this app when it closes. Would gladly of paid for it. 
    Who do you think writes the "news"?
    People you describe as "readers".
    NBC "News" is one of the broadcast originators and leaders of Fake News.
    Look at their Fake News stories in the 1900's: the exploding Ford truck, the exploding watermelon story are just two of their "Crown Jewels".
    Have you even used said app?
    With the exception of live video, NBC was hardly ever used as source material. 
    StacyDckm2016
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