We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
61 of its 90 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Monrovia accounted for 44 of Liberia's 61 stories about harm, carried by 37 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (24 stories). Ebola was named in 33 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
77 of its 123 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Addis Ababa accounted for 52 of Ethiopia's 77 stories about harm, carried by 59 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (47 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
353 of its 1,070 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (19 stories). Plane crash was named in 64 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
500 of its 1,341 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (193 stories). Illness was named in 83 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
191 of its 360 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (55 stories). Cyclone was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
381 of its 676 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. 184 of Harare's 206 stories were about protests or strikes. HIV was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
390 of its 720 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (216 stories). Flooding was named in 74 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
24 of its 43 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
124 of its 270 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (41 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
237 of its 482 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (71 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Indonesia (96 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Australia (261 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Brazil (74 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Morocco (11 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); earthquake in Papua New Guinea (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 25 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 35,080 stories about harm among 184,206 counted on 25 Jan.
Liberia stood out: 68% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 23%. 19 in every 100 of the day's 184,206 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. the news turned to Liberia for the second day running. A year earlier, on 25 January 2018, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today.
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 softer 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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