Newspapers and magazines usually choose simplicity over detail, because it is hard to show much information in a single, comprehensible display. A collection of truly bad examples from the popular media are shown on our Darts pages. Here, the attention to detail, and to graphic design are evident.
This graph, from the New York Times (Jan. 7, 1979) shows--- both valiantly, and sucessfully--- 2200 numbers which summarize the trends and patterns in weather in New York City in 1980. The three aligned charts show temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity. In the graph of temperature, the area is filled between the daily low and daily high.
What makes this graph successful, in spite of the large amount of information presented are (a) clear visual comparisons between the 1980 data and the long-run average, (b) clear textual labels, (c) visual segregation between the three series. For example, it is easy to see that March and April were about of normal temperature, but a lot wetter.