Songfacts®:

• This is a track from Michael Jackson's first posthumous album of original material, Michael. The song debuted on November 8, 2010 on michaeljackson.com and streamed for one week.
• "Breaking News" was originally recorded in 2007 in the New Jersey basement studio of Jackson family friend Eddie Cascio, along with two other Michael cuts, "Monster" and "Keep Your Head Up." The late King of Pop's team completed all three after the singer's death in June 2009.
• "Breaking News" finds Michael addressing his conflicts with the media and other detractors. It begins with sound bytes of news reports about Jackson's life and death before the King of Pop sings about his contempt for the tabloid press.
• This was the first song from the album to be promoted and it led to some questioning whether it really is Michael singing. LaToya Jackson, for instance questioned whether the voice is really her brother's, telling TMZ, "I listened to it... It doesn't sound like him."
  
  However, Teddy Riley, who worked with Michael on his later albums, said he had the family's support on the production of the album. "I did what Michael would expect of me with the tools I had to work with (vocal tracks of Michael). This is his legacy," he said. "Let it live."
  
  Michael's former manager Frank Dileo also vouched for the song's authenticity. "I spoke to Michael by telephone at the Cascios' home studio several times while he was recording with them, and he was excited and enthused by the music and the experience," Dileo said in a statement. "While listening to the tracks, especially the ones not heard by the general public, you can hear that he was having a great time!"
• The track was co-produced by Teddy Riley, who claimed responsibility to Billboard magazine for many of the song's major musical elements. "'Breaking News' was a track that, when I first heard it, I wanted to take to the next level and make it very exciting, very interesting, and kind of change things up," he said, "and we completed our mission doing that."
• In 2022, Jackson's estate and Sony removed this song, along with 'Monster" and "Keep Your Head Up," from streaming services amid continued accusations that Jackson didn't sing on the recordings.