World news is the term that is used in the media to refer to any story or news item that relates to a global subject. In the past it referred to stories sent to a newspaper from foreign locations, but with innovations in telecommunications such as the telegraph and later the telephone and television, it now also refers to information that is gathered through distance communication channels such as these. World news is one of the major subfields of journalism, along with national and regional news.

The history of world news is closely linked to the rise of modern journalism. Until the invention of printing presses in the 17th century, newspapers were rare. Those that existed were primarily private newsletters that served a particular audience, such as the courants of the early modern era in Europe, including the Daily Courant (England), Nieuwe Tijudinger (Antwerp), Relation aller Furnemmen und gedenckwurdigen Historien, and Avisa Relation oder Zeitung (Strasbourg).

The spread of satellite technology has allowed a wide range of broadcasting organizations to send live news items to consumers around the globe as soon as they occur. This has fundamentally changed the nature of the world news business. In addition to the traditional news outlets such as newspapers, radio and TV, it has given rise to citizen journalists who gather information on mobile devices such as smartphones. These changes are having a profound effect on the ecology of news and the boundaries that define journalistic practice, as discussed by Schudson in his book “The New Journalism”.