We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
175 of its 325 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Lusaka accounted for 146 of Zambia's 175 stories about harm, carried by 118 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (52 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
710 of its 810 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Freetown accounted for 676 of Sierra Leone's 710 stories about harm, carried by 651 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (505 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
183 of its 310 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Funchal accounted for 139 of Portugal's 183 stories about harm, carried by 157 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
106 of its 121 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 76%. Ouagadougou accounted for 103 of Burkina Faso's 106 stories about harm, carried by 96 outlets. 60 of Ouagadougou's 103 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
805 of its 1,901 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (306 stories). Bird flu was named in 118 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with outbreaks and ebola. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
587 of its 2,057 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 147 of Marikana's 203 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (179 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
169 of its 192 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (155 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
47 of its 77 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Quito accounted for 44 of Ecuador's 47 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (46 stories).
111 of its 198 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
195 of its 485 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (154 stories). Earthquake was named in 55 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with power cuts.
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Greece (146 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in Poland (43 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Albania (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); earthquake in Taiwan (55 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); landslides in Latvia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 Aug. 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 48,230 stories about harm among 204,234 counted on 16 Aug.
Zambia's news was 54% about people being harmed, against a usual 22%. of the day's 204,234 news stories, 24 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. On 16 August 2016, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 24 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 24 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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 about as 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.