This article discusses the legitimacy of social media as a credible and reliable news source. I believe the debate between the importance of providing live, “in the moment” information versus creating confirmed and factual stories is very interesting. It will also vary depending on what sort of events are being reported. For example, natural disasters seem to be events in which information should be spread as quickly possible, and perhaps social media is the best method to do so, where as other stories may require further details and analysis before presenting them. Take a read!
Tulane Social Media Marketing Blog 
Social media is definitely a great source for news, as they often crack stories before any major news source. The down side of it, of course, is that there isn’t much of a verification process, so the news is fast, but many times wrong.
I completely agree with your post and the idea of the article. These days, breaking news is disbursed to the public via twitter or updates on their phones. For example, twice over the summer I got Breaking News Reports on my iPhone. Every iPhone user in my area got it as well. One report was for an Amber Alert, and the other was for Flood Warnings. I did not set this up as a notification. Apple has this installed in the phone. It is quite interesting.