We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
124 of its 179 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. New Britain Island accounted for 107 of Papua New Guinea's 124 stories about harm, carried by 134 outlets. Tsunami was named in 109 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with volcanic eruption. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
129 of its 261 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Lusaka accounted for 96 of Zambia's 129 stories about harm, carried by 101 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (99 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
180 of its 292 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 25 of Manama's 38 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (100 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
183 of its 229 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Bamako accounted for 102 of Mali's 183 stories about harm, carried by 146 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (48 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
177 of its 283 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Panama City accounted for 145 of Panama's 177 stories about harm, carried by 201 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (164 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
165 of its 343 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 45 of Kathmandu's 79 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (70 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
407 of its 927 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Poisoning was named in 22 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
55 of its 134 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. 11 of Beirut's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (21 stories). Outbreaks were named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
31 of its 36 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Cyclone was named in 30 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with tropical storm, storms and hurricane.
230 of its 441 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Zeebrugge accounted for 171 of Belgium's 230 stories about harm, carried by 214 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (181 stories).
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in Madagascar (30 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); poisoning in Vietnam (45 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); haemorrhagic fever in Liberia (26 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); power cuts in Gambia (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Lebanon (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 6 Mar. 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 49,602 stories about harm among 240,507 counted on 6 Mar.
Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. 21 in every 100 of the day's 240,507 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Papua New Guinea's news, mentions of the tsunami ran about 5 times their usual. Papua New Guinea stood out: 69% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 31%. A year earlier, on 6 March 2016, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today.
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.
The words in the day's stories were harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
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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