We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
160 of its 186 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Bogota accounted for 113 of Colombia's 160 stories about harm, carried by 144 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (56 stories). Flooding was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
406 of its 635 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. 244 of Harare's 284 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (115 stories). Poisoning was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
233 of its 271 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Santiago accounted for 196 of Chile's 233 stories about harm, carried by 220 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (52 stories). Earthquake was named in 229 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tsunami and landslides.
146 of its 248 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Beirut accounted for 138 of Lebanon's 146 stories about harm, carried by 39 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (108 stories).
201 of its 217 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Aguelhok accounted for 148 of Mali's 201 stories about harm, carried by 135 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (102 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.
165 of its 355 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 133 of Athens' 140 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (130 stories).
569 of its 732 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (90 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
696 of its 1,323 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (126 stories). Road crashes were named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
103 of its 203 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (31 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
1,314 of its 4,863 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (36 stories). Road crashes were named in 310 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with landslides.
Also named far more than usual: drownings in Italy (47 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in UK (310 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); snowstorms in US (1219 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); hunger in Saudi Arabia (18 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); extreme cold in Canada (84 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 Jan. 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 20,476 stories about harm among 95,606 counted on 20 Jan.
It was the fourth day running that the news turned to Colombia. of the day's 95,606 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. Mentions of the earthquake ran more than ten times their usual in Chile's news. Refugees were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Israel and Lebanon. This week the news turned most often to Zimbabwe, on 5 of 7 days; help rose on 5 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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