Famous for his nearly forty years in broadcasting, Robert MacNeil is one of the most respected television journalists in America. Now, in Breaking News, a blistering, behind-the-scenes novel about network news today, he writes with wit about the world he knows best - a world in which crazed competition drives serious journalists into the tabloid feeding frenzies Americans increasingly see on their screens.

Anchorman Grant Munro is at the pinnacle of what should be a brilliant career. Covering every story from the Kennedy assassination to the Clinton sex scandals, Munro has won the admiration, respect, and trust of his viewers. About to turn sixty, Munro suddenly feels his career threatened - especially when Bill Donovan, a handsome reporter with little experience, vies for his anchor post.

Resentfully dragged into a media circus where "soft news" and tabloid values are becoming staples of nightly news, Munro negotiates a minefield of scheming, greed, and betrayal to hold on to the job and values he prizes.