World news is the broad term for stories covering events that occur in various locations around the globe. The field includes a wide range of topics, including international politics, economics, business, culture, religion, sports and entertainment. World news reports can also cover war and other types of conflict involving foreign nations. The World news category can also include coverage of world history and the development of different cultures throughout the world.
A major subfield of World news is reporting on world events, which often requires extensive travel to far-flung locales. Many newspapers have full-time foreign correspondents, and some news sources, such as CNN and BBC, have global news departments. World news can also include national and local reports about issues of interest to the general public.
Many World news reports have a lighthearted, irreverent tone and incorporate a variety of odd features. These may include a musical performance segment called “InsomniACTS” (where a jazz band from the New York City area is invited to play a number on-air) and the daily World News Now feature that consists of a short trivial knowledge fact that appears as the production credits roll after the end of a commercial break.
A classic example of the World news genre was the Weekly World News, a tabloid newspaper founded in 1979 and owned by Eddie Clontz, the former editor of sister tabloid The National Enquirer. The WWN published real, graphic photos of the post-autopsied body of executed serial killer Ted Bundy, which caused an uproar and led to the arrest of a low-level staff member of the Alachua County Florida medical examiner’s office. Other WWN topics included stories claiming to have found relics from Noah’s Ark, the Garden of Eden and sandals worn by Jesus. Other stories claimed that natural disasters and human economic activities like drilling for oil have opened gates or portals to Hell from which demons are escaping.