MISSION: To inform and inspire with real stories from around the world.
In a world filled with noise, WORLD is here to break through – the barriers, the stereotypes, the outmoded expectations – what we thought we knew about each other and life around us. WORLD, with its passion for elevating storytelling, offers hope and promise by presenting new ideas, voices and solutions outside of the mainstream. From award-winning documentaries on America ReFramed, Doc World and Local, USA to insightful tellers on Stories from the Stage, WORLD illustrates the range, complexity and resilience of humanity, and demonstrates that change is possible. At this moment, it's time for WORLD to break through.
At WORLD you can experience the personal stories behind the headlines. Devoted to telling stories that humanize complex issues, WORLD shares the best of public media in news, documentaries, and fact-based informational programming that helps us understand conflicts, movements and cultures that may be distinct from your own.
While airing news and documentaries from PBS, WORLD's focus is on its original content, offering a national platform to makers examining issues too often ignored by mainstream media. WORLD’s emerging and master filmmakers spotlight a diversity of voices, telling stories not heard elsewhere.
Since 2012, WORLD has developed four original series: America ReFramed for domestic long-form documentaries; Doc World for international long-form documentaries; Local, USA for short-form content on local issues of national importance; and Stories from the Stage, a multi-platform storytelling series. WORLD also showcases films and programs from filmmakers, public media stations and partners that celebrate diverse cultures and highlight critical issues like education, healthcare, the environment and politics.
WORLD has won a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, an International Documentary Association Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award, multiple Webby Awards, and many others honoring diversity of content and makers and numerous national honors for its content - including an RTDNA Kaleidoscope Award, a Media for a Just Society Award, two NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards, a Gracie, and an Asian American Journalists Award.
Carried by 194 partner stations in markets representing 77% of US TV households, WORLD can also be experienced on social and video platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, YouTube and the PBS app.