We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
3,679 of its 6,047 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Tehran accounted for 3,006 of Iran's 3,679 stories about harm, carried by 1,552 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (2,416 stories). Landslides were named in 134 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with train derailment. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
667 of its 847 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Jakarta accounted for 599 of Indonesia's 667 stories about harm, carried by 465 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Tsunami was named in 49 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
148 of its 194 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Bucharest accounted for 137 of Romania's 148 stories about harm, carried by 183 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (43 stories). Snowstorms were named in 116 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with power cuts, storms and extreme cold.
304 of its 465 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. 75 of Nairobi's 114 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (145 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
62 of its 68 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Chisinau accounted for 62 of Moldova's 62 stories about harm, carried by 103 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (61 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
569 of its 644 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (394 stories). Train derailment was named in 122 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
51 of its 56 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. 29 of Bamako's 46 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (32 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
1,543 of its 1,594 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 90%. Ouagadougou accounted for 1,308 of Burkina Faso's 1,543 stories about harm, carried by 976 outlets. Ebola was named in 184 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
102 of its 163 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (77 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
214 of its 572 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: polio in Kashmir (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Cambodia (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in Afghanistan (122 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Jamaica (18 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); earthquake in Belgium (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 Jan. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 30,291 stories about harm among 123,321 counted on 17 Jan.
Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate, most often about Burkina Faso and Syria. 25 in every 100 of the day's 123,321 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about three times the usual rate. Romania's news mentioned snowstorms more than ten times as often as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to Iran. This week the news turned most often to Indonesia, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 6 of them.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.
Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
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