World news is a subfield of news reporting dealing with events that have a global impact. It includes coverage of events such as world wars, summits of international organizations and natural disasters. It is distinct from domestic or “national” news, which covers stories involving the governments and citizens of a single nation. World news is generally reported by foreign correspondents or special envoys sent to cover a particular event or issue, but some domestic journalists may also cover some world news topics.
The term is also used to refer to a general news program, typically broadcast in the overnight hours, that provides an overview of the major stories of the day, including breaking stories, and is sometimes referred to as an “overnight news” program. For example, the ABC network’s World News Now is a world news program that is broadcast Monday through Friday mornings.
A world news program typically features a mix of serious and offbeat stories, as well as weather forecasts, sports highlights and other special segments, such as the Morning Papers segment (which featured several off-beat stories or pictures from various newspapers), or the ABC News Vault. Occasionally, a viewer will be heard reading an e-mail on air, and the anchors will respond to it (often with humor).
In the United States, the term is often used to refer to World News Tonight, a nightly news program broadcast by ABC. The program premiered on September 15, 2004, and was previously carried on a loop on many ABC stations until the local news at 6 a.m. In September 2011, two ABC affiliates owned by Citadel Communications – KCAU in Sioux City, Iowa and KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska – preempted the show to carry paid programming and a local automated weather subchannel overnights, but reverted to clearing World News Now in October 2011.