World news, also known as international news or foreign coverage, is the segment of journalism that deals with information sent to a journalist from a location outside the home country of the writer. This can include news gathered by foreign correspondents, or, more recently, news that is broadcast via distance communication technologies such as satellite TV and the internet.
The program has been known for both serious and offbeat stories, as well as odd features including a version of the “World News Polka” played on the accordion by comedian Barry Mitchell (who had also composed the song), video footage of dancing camels on Wednesdays (for “Hump Day”), and laughter from off-camera while the show’s credits are rolling. It has also been an apparent training ground for new news anchors, who often appear on ABC’s Nightline and other higher-profile newscasts.
In a recent move, network O&O station WPVI in Philadelphia replaced the original weeknight airing of the program with a rebroadcast of its Tamron Hall talk show and a replay of the daytime edition of World News Now, leaving only the Friday morning edition remaining as the sole network-produced morning news program on its schedule. This move was largely a result of the departure of co-anchor Norah O’Donnell.
Some local stations have chosen to preempt the program, most notably KTWO-TV in Casper, Wyoming and WVII-TV in Bangor, Maine, which chose to simulcast the cable home shopping channel Jewelry Television instead. Other local stations, such as WOAY-TV in Oak Hill, West Virginia, have instead chosen to run local programming until their local newscasts begin at 6 a.m.