Etymology From stop the presses, US newspaper-printing jargon.
1
Journalism, MediaUK An event or news article important enough to delay or interrupt the print, or require a reprint, of a publication, particularly of a newspaper edition.
1989, Textual Introduction to The Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Burton http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=C64iQVqCm3MC&pg=RA1-PR51&lpg=RA1-PR51&sig=JpcrTaGG5EdPxJjr2U8VwuilsEw Three of the errata corrections had already been made as stop-press corrections …
Faked Stop Press! announcements in newspapers. A valuable trick because it can always be claimed that the announcement was ‘hushed up’. It is also easy to fake the printing of the Stop Press.2002, Russell Miller, Behind the Lines http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=iAtuxaBlfRkC&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103&sig=erWM7_pq0H8pCDJnv5W4-5bxlv0
2 more examples
2005, Mary Norway, The Sinn Fein Rebellion As I Saw It, http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=kdp6DLzb6KcC&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&sig=TWkyRKxWPtmbwiGPh_BvuIQNwlA Another lady thought she would drive a lesson home, so she said: “But you said it was a ‘Stop press,’ and you knew it was not.” “It is, miss, but sure they hadn’t time to print the ‘stop press’ on it!!” (“Stop press” is the latest news, usually printed on the back of the paper.)
STOP PRESS: As this issue of RAIL went to press, the RMT announced that it too would be taking strike action on the Tube on March 152023 March 8, “Tube drivers announce "first day of action"”, in RAIL, number 978, page 11:
stop press
verb
Etymology From stop the presses, US newspaper-printing jargon.
1
UK Used to announce an event or news article important enough to delay or interrupt the print, or require a reprint, of publication, particularly of a newspaper edition.
2
UK, Idiomatic Used to grab attention, implying importance, news-worthiness, etc.