World news covers current events involving the countries of the world. It is typically compiled by journalists who are on assignment in foreign cities or countries, but may also be sourced from other news sources. It is a major part of most international television news programs.
One of the most well-known examples of a fictional world news program is the tabloid Weekly World News, which ran from 1979 to 2007. The WWN was known for its outlandish cover stories that often verged on satire and for its black-and-white images, which have become pop culture icons.
The WWN has also been the source of political satire, particularly concerning current and past presidents. It has reported that the founding fathers were gay and that President Abraham Lincoln was insane. It has also claimed that aliens are causing holes in the ozone and have been spying on the US through their use of the Internet. WWN once even published real, graphic photos of the post-autopsied body of serial killer Ted Bundy in February 1989. The managing editor of the paper defended the decision, saying that it was meant to deter other murderers.
A number of ABC affiliates have either pre-empted or dropped World News Now in recent years. For example, WLNE-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, carries a rebroadcast of the local late-night newscast instead of the World News Now, and NBC-owned WPVI-TV in Philadelphia does not clear the show at all. In addition, a few stations owned by Citadel Communications – KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa, KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska and WOI-DT in Ames, Iowa – did not clear the show when they joined the ABC network in September 2011, preferring to run paid programming until their local news begins.