Data Vis Dispatch, December 16: New website special

Welcome back to the 223rd edition of Data Vis Dispatch! Every week, we’ll be publishing a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we find, especially from news organizations — to celebrate data journalism, data visualization, simple charts, elaborate maps, and their creators.

This week, we celebrate the launch of our new website with a special edition of the Dispatch. It features many incredible charts, maps, and tables created with Datawrapper by our talented users. We're thrilled that we can show these examples of best practice on our new website, as inspiration for new and returning users.

Recurring topics this week? Lots of inspiring visualizations covering a wide range of issues and themes. Enjoy!

First up, line charts! Trusty companions for anyone looking to show change over time. Adding features like annotations, colors, range highlights, or adjusting the style of the lines is an effective way to guide attention, highlight the key message, or bring in more details.

Deutsche Welle: <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-us-president-trumo-row-clash/a-72811209"><strong>What Trump-Musk feud means for tech billionaire's businesses</strong></a> — Deutsche Welle: **What Trump-Musk feud means for tech billionaire's businesses**

The New York Times (The Athletic): <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6727378/2025/10/27/nfl-coaches-hot-seat-brian-daboll-giants/"><strong>NFL coaches on the hot seat: Why Brian Daboll’s status is more complex than you think — Pick Six</strong></a> — The New York Times (The Athletic): **NFL coaches on the hot seat: Why Brian Daboll’s status is more complex than you think — Pick Six**

Associated Press: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-warming-heating-earth-europe-copernicus-60eb12d11b7e5f694848673bb58512d3"><strong>Earth shattered global heat record in ’23 and it’s flirting with warming limit, European agency says</strong></a> — Associated Press: **Earth shattered global heat record in ’23 and it’s flirting with warming limit, European agency says**

Copernicus: <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/esotc/2024/temperature"><strong>European State of the Climate 2024 — Temperature</strong></a> — Copernicus: **European State of the Climate 2024 — Temperature**

Reuters: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/data/magnificent-seven-monitor-2024-10-30/"><strong>The Magnificent Seven Monitor</strong></a> — Reuters: **The Magnificent Seven Monitor**

ZEIT: <a href="https://www.zeit.de/wissen/2025-07/waldbrandgefahr-deutschland-hitze-statistik-daten"><strong>Warum es in Deutschland jetzt schon so viel brennt</strong></a> [Chart description: <em>Above-average risk of forest fires</em>] — ZEIT: **Warum es in Deutschland jetzt schon so viel brennt** [Chart description: *Above-average risk of forest fires*]

The Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/14/trump-inflation-tariffs-economy/"><strong>Trump is badly misreading today’s economy</strong></a> — The Washington Post: **Trump is badly misreading today’s economy**

Gallup: <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/692633/democrats-confidence-institutions-sinks-new-low.aspx"><strong>Democrats' Confidence in U.S. Institutions Sinks to New Low</strong></a> — Gallup: **Democrats' Confidence in U.S. Institutions Sinks to New Low**

Stacked bar charts are perfect for visualizing survey results, but they work just as well for showing (particularly ordered) categorical data.

Deutsche Welle: <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/fashion-brands-sustainability-commitments/a-74716981"><strong>Are Europe's fashion brands as green as they say?</strong></a> — Deutsche Welle: **Are Europe's fashion brands as green as they say?**

While they are close relatives of bar charts, column charts are often used to compare amounts over time. Stacked column charts with a carefully selected color palette can communicate layered information in an easy-to-digest way.

Tax Policy Center: <a href="https://taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/modeling-tariff-complexity-how-tpc-tracks-billions-policy-combinations"><strong>Modeling Tariff Complexity: How TPC Tracks Billions of Policy Combinations</strong></a> — Tax Policy Center: **Modeling Tariff Complexity: How TPC Tracks Billions of Policy Combinations**

Scatterplots, the most versatile chart type of them all. Ideal for showing data with multiple dimensions thanks to its two axes, adjustable symbol sizes, shapes, and colors, and plenty of space for detail in the interactive tooltips.

Axios: <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/01/public-parks-cities"><strong>The best U.S. cities for public parks</strong></a> — Axios: **The best U.S. cities for public parks**

The Times: <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/yes-you-have-seen-it-all-before-how-sequels-took-over-hollywood-vd7ndml6p"><strong>From Wonka to Bond, why Hollywood keeps recycling characters</strong></a> — The Times: **From Wonka to Bond, why Hollywood keeps recycling characters**

Want to show regions, locations, paths, or other geographical data? A choropleth, symbol, or locator map is the way to go.

Associated Press: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-us-news-ap-top-news-laws-virus-outbreak-cbf37dfa7a2c2ccd0110914830916cdf"><strong>In pandemic, rumors of martial law fly despite reassurances</strong></a> — Associated Press: **In pandemic, rumors of martial law fly despite reassurances**

ZEIT: <a href="https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/energiemonitor-strompreis-gaspreis-erneuerbare-energien-ausbau"><strong>Die wichtigsten Daten zur Energieversorgung – täglich aktualisiert</strong></a> [Chart description: <em>Since the beginning of the year, 848 wind turbines have been connected to the grid</em>] — ZEIT: **Die wichtigsten Daten zur Energieversorgung – täglich aktualisiert** [Chart description: *Since the beginning of the year, 848 wind turbines have been connected to the grid*]

SPIEGEL: <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/technik/nordostpassage-china-laesst-frachtschiffe-in-nur-18-tagen-nach-europa-fahren-a-5e6aa224-7a76-4747-bf21-9374ee72d1b3"><strong>In nur 18 statt 50 Tagen mit dem Frachter von China nach Europa</strong></a><strong> </strong>[<em>From China to Europe by freighter in just 18 days instead of 50</em>] — SPIEGEL: **In nur 18 statt 50 Tagen mit dem Frachter von China nach Europa** [*From China to Europe by freighter in just 18 days instead of 50*]

The Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/01/10/los-angeles-fires-updates-california-palisades-eaton/"><strong>11 killed, 37,000 acres burned by California wildfires</strong></a> — The Washington Post: **11 killed, 37,000 acres burned by California wildfires**

SPIEGEL: <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/jeff-bezos-und-lauren-sanchez-sind-fuer-ihre-hochzeit-in-venedig-angekommen-a-2d9f295b-eacf-44cd-8f85-8051c6d935f2"><strong>Jeff Bezos und seine Bald-Ehefrau sind in Venedig angekommen</strong></a><strong> </strong>[<em>Jeff Bezos and his soon-to-be wife have arrived in Venice</em>] — SPIEGEL: **Jeff Bezos und seine Bald-Ehefrau sind in Venedig angekommen** [*Jeff Bezos and his soon-to-be wife have arrived in Venice*]

Among other popular chart types, we have the understated table (with heatmap capability), a dot plot to show the difference between two data points, and a donut chart, a sleek alternative to the well-known pie.

SPIEGEL: <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/uno-klimakonferenz-so-steht-es-um-die-globale-erwaermung-a-659a6694-9b46-4559-a08e-7aa0dd5cb658"><strong>Plus 1,2 Grad und kein Ende in Sicht</strong></a> [Chart description: <em>Development of the global average temperature since 1850</em>] — SPIEGEL: **Plus 1,2 Grad und kein Ende in Sicht** [Chart description: *Development of the global average temperature since 1850*]

New America: <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/reports/how-raqqa-became-capital-isis/raqqa-isis-capital/"><strong>Raqqa: ISIS Capital</strong></a> — New America: **Raqqa: ISIS Capital**

KFF: <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/health-policy-101-medicaid/?entry=table-of-contents-what-is-medicaid"><strong>Medicaid 101</strong></a> — KFF: **Medicaid 101**

What else we found interesting

Applications are open for…

A cartographic design intern at Esri Creative Lab
A graphics reporter (deleted data project) at The Guardian

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Data Vis Dispatch, December 16: New website special

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