World news is the name used in journalistic jargon for foreign or international news. It is the broadest of all journalism subfields, and it includes the stories about a global subject (although if a story is about a war, that can be considered a national story for the media of belligerent countries). It is also the category of news that is sent to newspapers by foreign correspondents or – more recently – by foreign news agencies.

The most common type of reporter that focuses on world news is the correspondent. A correspondent is a full-time reporter who lives abroad and files stories regularly to a newspaper or other news outlet. He or she stays in touch with the local community and maintains contacts among diplomats, military personnel and members of civil society who can provide him or her with information.

At a time when the idea of nation-states was only just beginning to form in 17th century Europe, it took a while for newspapers to start reporting world news. However, as a result of innovations in telecommunications technology, it was soon possible to send stories to papers by telegraph from far away locations. That led to the formation of some of the first news agencies, such as AFP in France, Reuters in the UK, and Wolff (now DPA) in Germany. Since then, world news has become the core of most major news agencies’ coverage. This article was originally published on Fox News and is reprinted with permission.