National news is a term used to describe events or developments that affect the whole country or have significant national implications. This includes politics, economy, major disasters, and international events. The news media usually focuses on national or global issues with an impact. The coverage of local issues is more limited.
A national news story is one that affects the whole nation, such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. It can also be a political issue, such as a scandal or the resignation of a politician. The news media may report on the impact of these stories on individuals. They may also focus on the effects that a national event or disaster can have on tourism, the economy and the job market.
In the United States, cable and satellite news services provide national news in real-time. This means that a story that would have taken hours or days to reach towns and nations is now instantly available on television, radio, mobile phones, computers and the internet.
Generally, news stories are reported according to certain standards known as the news values. These standards include the “Five Ws” (who, what, when, where and why). News stories are often broken down into parts and portrayed in a short format, based on audience and time constraints.
The majority of Americans name Fox News and CNN as their primary news sources, with the former being more popular among Republicans than the latter. A small percentage of Americans name NPR as a bipartisan source and three outlets are distrusted more by Democrats than by Republicans: Infowars, the National Enquirer and OAN.