diff --git a/docs/dashboard-reporters.md b/docs/dashboard-reporters.md
index 7bd06f2..eb3a089 100644
--- a/docs/dashboard-reporters.md
+++ b/docs/dashboard-reporters.md
@@ -43,6 +43,18 @@ The `trending` reporter shows the change in each metric over a period of time, b
 - If `[days]` is not provided, it will analyze all reports in your `reports/` directory to show the all-time change.
 - If `[days]` is provided, it will show the change over the last `N` days.
 
+**Example Output:**
+
+```
+Change	Last Value	First Value	Metrics
+------	----------	-----------	-------
+-1	0	1	github	open_issues	repo.attogram.agents
+-15	0	15	github	closed_prs	repo.attogram.ote
+-1	0	1	github	open_prs	repo.attogram.agents
+-13	0	13	github	closed_prs	repo.attogram.justrefs
++6	10	4	github	stars	repo.attogram.llm-council
+```
+
 ### `top-stars`
 
 The `top-stars` reporter finds the most recent report file and lists the top repositories by their star count.
diff --git a/modules/github.sh b/modules/github.sh
index 0dbd0d7..97ec8b1 100755
--- a/modules/github.sh
+++ b/modules/github.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,19 @@ fi
 
 # --- Data Fetching and Formatting -------------------------------------------
 
+# Helper function to safely get a value from jq
+get_json_value() {
+    local json=$1
+    local key=$2
+    local value
+    value=$(echo "$json" | jq -r "$key")
+    if [ "$value" == "null" ] || [ -z "$value" ]; then
+        echo "0"
+    else
+        echo "$value"
+    fi
+}
+
 fetch_repo_data() {
     local repo_name=$1
     local api_url="https://api.github.com/repos/${GITHUB_USER}/${repo_name}"
@@ -67,15 +80,20 @@ fetch_repo_data() {
     local open_prs
     local closed_prs
 
-    stars=$(echo "$api_response" | jq -r '.stargazers_count')
-    forks=$(echo "$api_response" | jq -r '.forks_count')
-    issues=$(echo "$api_response" | jq -r '.open_issues_count')
-    watchers=$(echo "$api_response" | jq -r '.subscribers_count')
+    stars=$(get_json_value "$api_response" '.stargazers_count')
+    forks=$(get_json_value "$api_response" '.forks_count')
+    issues=$(get_json_value "$api_response" '.open_issues_count')
+    watchers=$(get_json_value "$api_response" '.subscribers_count')
 
     # Fetch PR counts using the search API to be more efficient
     local search_api_url="https://api.github.com/search/issues?q=is:pr+repo:${GITHUB_USER}/${repo_name}"
-    open_prs=$(curl -s "${curl_headers[@]}" "${search_api_url}+is:open" | jq -r '.total_count')
-    closed_prs=$(curl -s "${curl_headers[@]}" "${search_api_url}+is:closed" | jq -r '.total_count')
+    local open_prs_response
+    local closed_prs_response
+    open_prs_response=$(curl -s "${curl_headers[@]}" "${search_api_url}+is:open")
+    closed_prs_response=$(curl -s "${curl_headers[@]}" "${search_api_url}+is:closed")
+
+    open_prs=$(get_json_value "$open_prs_response" '.total_count')
+    closed_prs=$(get_json_value "$closed_prs_response" '.total_count')
 
     local now
     now=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
diff --git a/reporters/trending.sh b/reporters/trending.sh
index d58dd7c..91936af 100755
--- a/reporters/trending.sh
+++ b/reporters/trending.sh
@@ -69,13 +69,16 @@ awk '
 BEGIN {
     FS="\t";
     OFS="\t";
-    print "Metric\tFirst Value\tLast Value\tChange";
-    print "------\t-----------\t----------\t------";
+    print "Change\tLast Value\tFirst Value\tMetrics";
+    print "------\t----------\t-----------\t-------";
 }
 FNR == 1 { next; } # Skip header row of each file
 {
     metric = $2 OFS $3 OFS $4; # module, channel, namespace
     value = $5;
+    if (value == "null") {
+        value = 0;
+    }
     if (!(metric in first_value)) {
         first_value[metric] = value;
     }
@@ -83,6 +86,13 @@ FNR == 1 { next; } # Skip header row of each file
 }
 END {
     for (metric in last_value) {
+        # Safeguard for nulls in old reports
+        if (first_value[metric] == "null") {
+            first_value[metric] = 0;
+        }
+        if (last_value[metric] == "null") {
+            last_value[metric] = 0;
+        }
         change = last_value[metric] - first_value[metric];
         if (change != 0) {
             # Add a plus sign for positive changes
@@ -91,7 +101,7 @@ END {
             } else {
                 change_str = change;
             }
-            print metric, first_value[metric], last_value[metric], change_str;
+            print change_str, last_value[metric], first_value[metric], metric;
         }
     }
 }' "${TARGET_FILES[@]}"