We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
794 of its 1,448 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Seoul accounted for 734 of South Korea's 794 stories about harm, carried by 589 outlets. 684 of Seoul's 734 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (456 stories). Train derailment was named in 156 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
570 of its 605 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Sanaa accounted for 320 of Yemen's 570 stories about harm, carried by 556 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (307 stories). Hunger was named in 329 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with cholera and drought. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
45 of its 91 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (33 stories). Measles was named in 37 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with respiratory illness. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
553 of its 1,218 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (238 stories). Tsunami was named in 450 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
262 of its 308 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 74%. Mogadishu accounted for 181 of Somalia's 262 stories about harm, carried by 206 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (55 stories). Measles was named in 36 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
132 of its 151 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Monrovia accounted for 117 of Liberia's 132 stories about harm, carried by 111 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (111 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
85 of its 103 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Vesna accounted for 71 of Belarus' 85 stories about harm, carried by 67 outlets. 71 of Vesna's 71 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (76 stories).
313 of its 335 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Guatemala City accounted for 174 of Guatemala's 313 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. 170 of Guatemala City's 174 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
105 of its 196 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. 46 of Kiev's 70 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (32 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
146 of its 162 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (106 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Vietnam (32 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Niger (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in New Zealand (48 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); heavy rain in South Africa (55 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); measles in Somalia (36 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 11 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 33,412 stories about harm among 152,273 counted on 11 Mar.
On the side of help, reports of peace efforts ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 22 in every 100 of the day's 152,273 stories, as usual. South Korea's news was 55% about people being harmed, against a usual 20%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Yemen and Madagascar. Japan's news mentioned the tsunami about 5 times as often as usual.
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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