MSNBC
Digital Network formally announced its acquisition of the URL www.breakingnews.com. The announcement comes on
the heels of the cable news services acquisition last month of @BreakingNews,
the Twitter feed of BNONews.com. As one of the most popular breaking news feeds
on Twitter, the acquisition of @BreakingNews has given MSNBC an additional 1.6
million followers while the network's own breaking news Twitter account
(@msnbc_breaking) has less than 50,000.
"We
know that people want news in different ways in varying circumstances," Charlie
Tillinghast, president of the MSNBC Digital Network, said in a statement. "Not everyone wants news surrounded by
commentary or features. Our goal as a
news organization is to provide the most relevant experiences to satisfy distinct
needs. Hard and fast breaking news is
currently an underserved market. With www.breakingnews.com we can now provide the
optimal solution."
BNO
News monitors "official and unofficial news sources." It also has an
iPhone app and provides e-mail alerts. "BNO News broke the deadly 2009 L'Aquila earthquake in Italy within six minutes, faster
than any other news source," according to the BNO News web site.
MSNBC
is not the only television news provider to take over an established Twitter
feed. Last April, CNN acquired @CNNBrk, a Twitter feed that linked to the top
stories on CNN.com.
