World news is a subfield of journalism focused on global events. This includes foreign news (news about a country outside the host nation) and international news (news about an event that affects multiple countries). It can also include coverage of a specific region or even a single city, and is often categorized by the nuances of each locale. For instance, in the United States, world news often includes coverage of foreign policy as well as wars in which the nation is involved and summits of multilateral organizations that the country is a member of.
During the show’s early years, WNN would often air clips of local news from around the country (for example, a snowstorm in Buffalo, New York might be followed by the first few minutes of that night’s local ABC affiliate newscast on WKBW-TV). In addition to these segments, it would often replay stories from other programs like Nightline and America This Morning.
The program is famous for its odd features, including a version of the “World News Polka” (most commonly played by comedian Barry Mitchell on the accordion) and a segment called Morning Papers which featured offbeat and humorous pictures found in newspapers. In recent times, it has been replaced by The Mix which uses online stories.
The show is a popular training ground for young journalists who eventually go on to higher-profile positions with ABC and its local affiliates. However, the show has lost some of its original momentum since its debut as several ABC-owned stations choose to skip it altogether, such as KCAU-TV in Sioux City, KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska and WOI-DT in Ames, Iowa (all owned by Citadel Communications). Other stations opt to run World News Now in a loop from their overnight schedule or preempt it for other syndicated programming such as Litton’s Weekend Adventure.
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