We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
180 of its 310 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Jeddah accounted for 130 of Saudi Arabia's 180 stories about harm, carried by 258 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 8 times the usual rate (11 stories). Oil spill was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
193 of its 304 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Tehran accounted for 92 of Iran's 193 stories about harm, carried by 98 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
59 of its 188 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
19 of its 24 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
539 of its 1,210 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate (169 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
27 of its 61 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Cyclone was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
45 of its 90 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (39 stories).
58 of its 106 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Beirut accounted for 44 of Lebanon's 58 stories about harm, carried by 63 outlets.
26 of its 52 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (7 stories).
28 of its 74 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (12 stories).
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in Fiji (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Australia (94 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); poisoning in Russia (45 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); nipah virus in Brazil (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Netherlands (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 14 Dec. 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 21,595 stories about harm among 82,952 counted on 14 Dec.
Abductions were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about Nigeria and Iran. Stories about people being harmed made up 26 in every 100 of the day's 82,952 stories, as usual. On 15 December 2019, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 26 today. In Saudi Arabia, 58% of the news was about people being harmed, where 39% is usual.
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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