We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
154 of its 271 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Bucaramanga accounted for 102 of Colombia's 154 stories about harm, carried by 130 outlets. 101 of Bucaramanga's 102 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (39 stories). Extreme cold was named in 139 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with malaria. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
54 of its 107 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Tunis accounted for 49 of Tunisia's 54 stories about harm, carried by 37 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
122 of its 274 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (88 stories). Building collapse was named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
109 of its 160 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (70 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
270 of its 645 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 63 of Hanoi's 68 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (175 stories). Landslides were named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
52 of its 62 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. 21 of Managua's 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
38 of Alima's 39 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Flu was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
733 of its 934 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (75 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
301 of its 423 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Panama City accounted for 270 of Panama's 301 stories about harm, carried by 258 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
16 of its 18 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. 8 of Anjouan's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (15 stories).
Also named far more than usual: malaria in Venezuela (129 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in Switzerland (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in South Sudan (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); bird flu in Bulgaria (19 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); flu in Congo (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 Oct. 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 37,711 stories about harm among 203,049 counted on 18 Oct.
Colombia's news mentioned extreme cold more than ten times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 18 October 2017, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today. In Colombia, 57% of the news was about people being harmed, where 34% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 203,049 stories, below the usual 20.
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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