International news is a category of journalism that covers events and developments happening outside a particular geographical area, such as a city or region. This category of news has received considerable scholarly and professional attention because it is often perceived to be uniquely influential in how people perceive and understand the world around them.

Analyses of news content have found that many determinants affect the amount and type of international news coverage in different media outlets. Some of these determinants are specific to the nature of international news, such as the fact that news about countries with cultural proximity and geographic closeness tend to receive more coverage than those without such proximity. Other determinants are related to the economic and political importance of foreign countries (e.g., their level of geopolitical clout or significance as trading partners), which can also have local impacts through things like import and export contracts with regional businesses.

Regardless of the specific factors, most analyses have also found that international news tends to focus on a limited set of countries. These typically include superpowers, and a subset of countries with a high degree of geopolitical interest. This has led to a growing concern that people are not getting a full picture of the world, especially those who live in developed countries that have little direct exposure to other parts of it through travel or contact with immigrants from those areas. Some theoretical perspectives have argued that this situation can be remedied by making international news more domestically relevant or accessible, so as to “domesticate” it and make it more interesting or engaging to local audiences.