Breaking news is currently in beta. We do not recommend using it in production as it may undergo changes.

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Overview

Breaking news represents important news stories rapidly gaining traction across multiple sources. Our system identifies these stories through automated analysis of news coverage patterns, allowing you to discover high-impact events as they emerge.

A breaking news event is characterized by:

  • Coverage from multiple different sources and authors
  • Rapid publication within a short time frame
  • Significant importance within a specific topic area

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How it works

Our breaking news detection works through several interconnected stages:

1

Clustering

Recently published articles are automatically grouped together based on their content similarity.

2

Validation

Each cluster undergoes analysis for breaking news signals, including:

  • Publication frequency (sudden spikes in coverage)
  • Source diversity (coverage across multiple publishers)
  • Coverage quality (presence of high-ranking news sources)
3

Deduplication

The system filters out duplicate content within clusters while preserving source diversity.

4

Historical Analysis

New candidates get compared against recent breaking news to track continuing stories.

5

AI Evaluation

An AI analysis step confirms whether potential breaking news clusters represent significant events.

6

Classification

Clusters that meet the breaking news criteria receive a special flag in the system.

When you query the /breaking_news endpoint, you receive the most representative article from each breaking news cluster. Results are ordered by cluster size, so the most widely covered breaking news appears first.

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Breaking news endpoint

The /breaking_news endpoint provides access to breaking news stories through simple API calls.

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Base URL

https://v3-api.newscatcherapi.com/api/breaking_news

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HTTP Methods

  • GET: Query parameters in the URL
  • POST: Parameters in request body (JSON)

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Request examples

curl -X GET "https://v3-api.newscatcherapi.com/api/breaking_news?theme=Business&page_size=100&top_n_articles=5" \
  -H "x-api-token: YOUR_API_KEY"

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Response format

The API returns a JSON object with the following structure:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "total_hits": 465,
  "page": 1,
  "total_pages": 5,
  "page_size": 100,
  "breaking_news_events": [
    {
      "event_id": "15610469432059813057",
      "articles_count": 5842,
      "articles": [
        // Individual articles within this breaking news event
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The response contains an array of breaking news events, each with its associated articles. The structure includes:

  • breaking_news_events: Array of breaking news events, each representing a significant news cluster
    • event_id: Unique identifier for the breaking news event/cluster
    • articles_count: Total number of articles in this breaking news cluster
    • articles: Array of articles related to this breaking news event (limited by the top_n_articles parameter)

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Comparison with other endpoints

EndpointBreaking newsSearchLatest headlines
PurposeDiscover emerging stories with significant tractionFind specific content matching search criteriaRetrieve recent headlines for the specified time period
Time scopeFixed at 24 hoursConfigurable with from_ and to_Configurable with when
Result groupingClustered by event with configurable articles per eventIndividual articlesIndividual articles
Primary sortingBy cluster size (coverage volume)By relevance, date, or rankBy publication date
Best forDiscovering important new storiesFinding specific contentMonitoring regular updates

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Use cases

The breaking news endpoint is valuable in several scenarios:

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Timely information discovery

Media monitoring teams can quickly identify emerging stories without manually tracking multiple sources. When a significant event occurs, the breaking news endpoint immediately highlights it based on its sudden surge in coverage.

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Content curation

Content teams can discover trending stories to feature in newsletters, websites, or apps. Instead of manually checking multiple sources, the breaking news endpoint automatically identifies stories gaining traction across the media landscape.

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Market intelligence

Financial and business analysts can be alerted to significant events affecting markets, companies, or industries. By monitoring breaking news in specific business sectors, analysts can identify potentially market-moving information faster.

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Crisis monitoring

Organizations can quickly identify emerging crises related to their industry, brand, or interests. The breaking news endpoint helps detect sudden increases in coverage about topics of concern, enabling faster response.

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