Affordable Care Act: Breaking News or Broken News?

When it came to reporting the Supreme Court’s opinion on the Affordable Care Act, most news outlets in and around Washington gave blow-by-blow updates — from the build up to the ruling to the outpouring of responses that followed the decision. At least two news outlets made breaking news mistakes.

CNN and Fox News got the announcement wrong initially. CNN issued alerts saying the key part of the law, the mandate, had been struck down. It later issued a correction, saying, "CNN regrets that it didn't wait to report out the full and complete opinion regarding the mandate. We made a correction within a few minutes and apologize for the error.”

Fox News made the same mistake before quickly switching gears.

Here is how other news organizations reported it:

The Huffington Post: Supreme Court Health Care Decision: Individual Mandate Survives
The individual health insurance mandate is constitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding the central provision of President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act.

Politico: Health care ruling: Individual mandate upheld by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court upheld most of President Barack Obama’s health care law Thursday, ruling that Congress did not overstep its power by requiring nearly all Americans to buy health insurance.

The Washington Examiner: Supreme Court upholds Obama health law by 5-4 vote
The United States Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the $1 trillion Affordable Care Act and its requirement that every American purchase health insurance coverage.

The Washington Post: Supreme Court upholds Obama’s health-care law
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Thursday joined the liberal wing of the Supreme Court to save the heart of President Obama’s landmark health-care law, agreeing that the requirement for nearly all Americans to secure health insurance is permissible under Congress’s taxing authority.

The Washington Times: Supreme Court upholds Obama’s health care overhaul
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the heart of President Obama’s health care law, ruling the federal government can compel Americans to buy health insurance, and striking a new balance for the scope of federal authority in the 21st century.