World news is the reporting of international events. A major subfield of world news is foreign reporting, where reporters are stationed in the country or region they cover. This can be accomplished by a full-time reporter employed by the media outlet, or by special envoys sent by an organization for an extended period of time, often to observe and report on a particular subject.
The Weekly World News (commonly referred to as WWN) was a tabloid newspaper published in the United States from 1979 to 2007. It is known for outlandish, mostly fictional “news” stories with a satirical approach to journalism. Its distinctive black-and-white covers became pop culture icons and have appeared in numerous movies and television shows.
Some of the most popular WWN stories concerned aliens and other creatures from other planets. These were sometimes based on real-life sightings, while other times were entirely fictitious. Several characters became stock fixtures of the WWN, including Bat Boy, a half-bat half-human discovered in West Virginia caverns; P’lod, an alien from Mercury who interfered with Earth politics; and the Abominable Beachman, a monster that terrorized Hawaiian tourists.
Other WWN coverage included political satire. One of the most notorious examples came in 1989, when WWN ran actual, graphic photos taken from the autopsied body of serial killer Ted Bundy. The paper’s managing editor at the time defended the move, explaining that he hoped the images would deter others from murdering.
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