World news is a general term for international news reported by a newspaper or other media outlet. The word can also be used to describe an organization that provides news reports to multiple outlets, such as a news agency or wire service. A news agency is usually an independent business entity that specializes in providing foreign news for newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. The work of a news agency is often done by freelance reporters, who are sometimes referred to as stringers.
The term was originally used to refer to the foreign sections of newspapers printed in 17th-century Europe. By the 19th century, the term had come to mean a newspaper devoted mainly to foreign news and political events. Several of the most important European newspaper chains, including the Courant de Londres and the Nieuwe Tijudinger in Antwerp, were founded in this period.
In the late 20th century, the phrase gained wide popularity in the United States as a derogatory term for fake tabloids such as The National Enquirer and WWN (the Weekly World News), which tended to focus on supernatural or pseudoscientific news stories, such as the Loch Ness monster, alien abductions or miracle cures. A number of characters became stock fixtures in WWN news stories, most notably Bat Boy, a half-bat, half-boy creature found in West Virginia caves.
In contrast to the serious, informative tone of its sister tabloid Sun, WWN rarely provided a fine print disclaimer on its articles, relying instead on a sense of humor and irreverence. For example, its front page in 1989 included real, graphic photographs of the post-autopsied body of serial killer Ted Bundy. Its editor, Eddie Clontz, defended the decision, arguing that such photos could help deter other murderers.