We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
199 of its 348 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Causeway Bay accounted for 166 of Hong Kong's 199 stories about harm, carried by 226 outlets. 166 of Causeway Bay's 166 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (145 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
610 of its 690 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Abaco accounted for 488 of the Bahamas' 610 stories about harm, carried by 592 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (377 stories). Tropical storm was named in 486 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
48 of its 53 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 74%. Ouagadougou accounted for 46 of Burkina Faso's 48 stories about harm, carried by 43 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
160 of its 251 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (159 stories).
62 of its 127 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Algiers accounted for 57 of Algeria's 62 stories about harm, carried by 56 outlets. 57 of Algiers' 57 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (53 stories).
1,121 of its 2,036 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Natural hazards were named in 17 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
453 of its 1,279 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 252 of Beijing's 342 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (87 stories).
57 of its 140 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 24 of Bangkok's 33 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (29 stories).
27 of its 34 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (18 stories). Drownings were named in 76 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Indonesia (39 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hurricane in Bermuda (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); dengue in Nepal (17 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); storms in Greece (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Japan (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 Sep. 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 18,631 stories about harm among 84,119 counted on 15 Sep.
Of the day's 84,119 news stories, 22 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 15 September 2018, 27 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 22 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 harsher 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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