We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
211 of its 330 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Nanfangao accounted for 160 of Taiwan's 211 stories about harm, carried by 459 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (140 stories). Typhoon was named in 154 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with power cuts and bridge collapse.
131 of its 227 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Kuopio accounted for 99 of Finland's 131 stories about harm, carried by 347 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (118 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
86 of its 106 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Mogadishu accounted for 44 of Somalia's 86 stories about harm, carried by 54 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (57 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
68 of its 184 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 28 of Lima's 33 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Outbreaks were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
32 of its 59 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Rabat accounted for 27 of Morocco's 32 stories about harm, carried by 32 outlets. 16 of Rabat's 27 stories were about protests or strikes. Illness was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
102 of its 164 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Baghdad accounted for 65 of Iraq's 102 stories about harm, carried by 212 outlets. 53 of Baghdad's 65 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (53 stories).
Tsuen Wan accounted for 116 of Hong Kong's 153 stories about harm, carried by 192 outlets. 111 of Tsuen Wan's 116 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (58 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
20 of its 53 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
55 of its 185 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Road crashes were named in 15 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.
35 of its 67 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 15 of Yaounde's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Illness was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Ireland (80 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Morocco (16 of its stories, about three times its usual); hurricane in Portugal (14 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); road crashes in Jamaica (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 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 21,743 stories about harm among 126,269 counted on 1 Oct.
Taiwan stood out: 64% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 15%. It was the third day running that the news turned to Taiwan. of the day's 126,269 news stories, 17 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 21. A year earlier, on 1 October 2018, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 17 today. Over September, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 in September 2018.
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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