What Is World News?

World news is the term in news media jargon for news that is either from or about a foreign country. This is a broad field and includes news about wars, international politics, global economics and other global issues (although some of these subjects may be more properly considered national for the purposes of the individual belligerent countries).

The bulk of most major news agency services contain foreign news. Such news is prepared by reporters in the field and distributed in bulk electronically through wire services (originally over telegraphy, now often via the Internet). Individual newspapers, radio or television stations, and corporations subscribe to these services. Governments, analysts and intelligence agencies sometimes also use them.

A journalist working in a foreign country is called a correspondent, and he or she usually files regular reports to the news editor. Correspondents generally stay in touch with other reporters and local community members, and they gather materials from sources such as government officials, businesspeople and members of the military.

Many journalists who work abroad do so without a permanent contract with a newspaper or other news source. This is known as stringer reporting and it is the form of world journalism that has a long tradition in the English-speaking world (although some stringers produce news for several different companies at once). A subfield of world news is political coverage, particularly covering events that impact or affect national governments.