National news covers events and issues with national implications, including politics, economics, major disasters and international relations. National journalism typically has a greater reach than local news, enabling it to impact public opinion on a larger scale. In contrast, local news focuses on community events and government actions that affect the immediate area.
The line between local and national news has become increasingly blurred due to social media, where stories can gain visibility locally before quickly gaining momentum nationwide. This dynamic can provide a valuable service to audiences by providing a more complete picture of events across the country, but it can also lead to sensationalized narratives that fail to reflect the nuances of localized situations.
Whether local or national, news programs should be able to present their stories with an objective narrative. However, these reports may lose their objectivity due to factors such as the news story’s subject or the manner in which the news is presented.
Moreover, some topics are considered more important than others by news editors and readers. This hierarchy can influence the selection of news stories, resulting in a lack of coverage on certain topics or over-exposure on others.