We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
554 of its 1,942 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 43 of Vancouver's 79 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (67 stories). Storms were named in 23 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with tuberculosis. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
505 of its 644 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Damascus accounted for 408 of Syria's 505 stories about harm, carried by 319 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (238 stories). Outbreaks were named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
310 of its 348 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 77%. Freetown accounted for 297 of Sierra Leone's 310 stories about harm, carried by 269 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
24 of its 26 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (20 stories).
267 of its 302 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Helsinki accounted for 160 of Finland's 267 stories about harm, carried by 270 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (62 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
565 of its 1,093 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (88 stories). Accidents were named in 29 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
2,049 of its 3,145 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Barcelona accounted for 1,855 of Spain's 2,049 stories about harm, carried by 997 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 8 times the usual rate (183 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
36 of its 49 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. 34 of Algiers' 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (35 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
249 of its 395 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. 68 of Ankara's 123 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (60 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
9,707 of its 32,850 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 1,214 of Boston's 1,481 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (169 stories). Plane crash was named in 136 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with building collapse.
Also named far more than usual: train derailment in India (516 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Portugal (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tropical storm in Belize (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); heavy rain in Mexico (25 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); bird flu in Philippines (80 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 27,488 stories about harm among 97,192 counted on 20 Aug.
Of the day's 97,192 news stories, 28 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 23. Reports of volunteers, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Refugees were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Spain and Palestine. A year earlier, on 20 August 2016, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 28 today. This week the news turned most often to Sierra Leone, on 6 of 7 days; help rose on 2 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.
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?
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