National news is a term used to refer to the coverage of issues that have a significant impact on an entire country. National news can be presented in a variety of media, including TV and radio programs, newspapers and magazines. National news may also be distributed by a national news agency such as the Associated Press or Reuters.
National news focuses on political scandals and major disasters, as well as the work of local journalists reporting on these events and their community’s impact. It is distinct from international news, which typically covers world affairs or global subjects.
Historically, the word national was synonymous with local news. However, as the nation-state concept evolved in 17th century Europe (initially reflected in courants such as the Daily Courant, Nieuwe Tijudinger, and Avisa Relation oder Zeitung), news began to be reported on nationally. In the early 19th century, developments such as telegraphy enabled the rapid dissemination of national news to newspapers in cities around the world. This was followed by the creation of the first news agencies such as AFP, Reuters and DPA (Germany).
National news is often branded and presented differently by different media outlets. For example, the Swedish public broadcaster SVT produces a regional news program for the capital city of Stockholm called SVT Distriktsnyheter. It airs each weekday evening at 18:30 Central European Time, and is incorporated into SVT’s other evening newscast Aktuellt which airs on channel 2. In some cases, this local news segment shares the same branding and graphics as Aktuellt.