National news is news that concerns a nation or its institutions, such as the government and multilateral organizations. It is a subfield of world news and may be covered by foreign correspondents or, more recently, special envoys sent to cover specific subjects in a given place.
The national news media is the mass medium through which information about political events, natural disasters, and other issues that affect a large population are distributed to members of a society. The emergence of this medium in the 19th century changed the way news was conveyed to citizens. Today, the internet has also radically altered the delivery of information to the public.
Aside from educating people about local and world issues, another important function the media performs is agenda-setting. This involves deciding which issues are considered important enough to be reported on and what tone should be taken in reporting them. Agenda-setting has been described as the most important role that the media performs.
The stories below illustrate how community engagement, collaboration with partners and other innovative strategies can help small newsrooms tell important, in-depth local news. They highlight how a strong, dedicated follow-up to a story can have a significant impact on the real lives of local residents. These projects are highlighted by the LION Publishers 2019 awards and show how newsrooms can work together to serve their communities. All of these stories were made possible thanks to support from NewsMatch, an annual fundraising campaign that supports nonprofit journalism.