Creating a New News Story

What is a News Story?

A News Story is the content type that creates articles in Colgate's News blog, located at colgate.edu/news. It is not the same as a Blog Post, which populates articles for all other blogs on colgate.edu. News Stories will mainly be created by Communications employees contributing to the News blog.

If you're not sure that what type of content is right for your needs, consult What Type of Content Do I Need?

Creating a News Story

1. Log in to Drupal.
2. Click "Workbench" on your Drupal toolbar (at the top of the page), then choose "Create Content".
3. Click "News". This will take you to the News Story editor.
4. Enter a Title in the "Title" field. This will appear:
   • As the primary title at the top of the page when it is published (unless overridden by the "Hero Title," as described below)
   • In the browser's tab when users are viewing the page
   • Search results when users search for your page.
5. The News Story Editor has 3 tabs:
   1. Fill out the "Details" tab first.
   1. Add a Featured Image in the "Featured Image" field. This will display at the top of the News Story. Click Choose File and select a photo from your computer with the pop-up window. See Optimizing Images for the Web for instructions on ensuring your image is website-ready.
   2. Add alternative text for your Featured Image in the "Alternative Text" field. This should be a short description of the content of the photograph.
   3. Add a thumbnail version of your Featured Image in the "Thumbnail" field. If you do not provide a thumbnail, Drupal will automatically generate one from the Featured Image. Add alternative text for the thumbnail if using one.
   4. Add a photo attribution for your Featured Image in the "Featured Image Caption" field. Attributions should be in the format of "Photo by [Photographer Name]". If including a full caption, include the attribution after the caption.
   5. Choose applicable Categories for your Story from the "Categories" list.
   6. Add Tags to your Story.
   1. Begin typing a tag and click the complete one from the drop-down list. If no matching tag appears, finish typing the tag yourself.
   2. Add additional tags with the Add Another Item button.
   3. Common tags include faculty and staff codes (first initial, last name as they are coded in email addresses, e.g. mwalden, ljack) department and program codes (ARTS, POSC), and other specific topics of the story (Benton Hall, football)
   7. Select one or more of Alumni, Faculty & Staff, and Students from the Subject list.
   8. Add any applicable academic departments or programs with the "Department" field.
      1. Begin typing a department name and click the correct one from the drop-down list.
      2. Add additional departments with the "Add Another" Item button.
   9. Add a Summary in the "Summary" field. This should be a short summation of the content of your News Story. It will appear in search results and article lists.
   10. Add lead-in text and other introductory segments of your News Story in the "Body" section. See Using the Text Editor for help with the Text Editor.
   2. Add the content of your News Story in the "Content" tab. Add widgets through the dropdown menu. Available widgets for News Stories include Text, Block Quotes, Slideshows, Videos, and Stat Groups.
   3. Add related news stories using the "Related" tab. Begin typing the title of other News Stories you'd like to connect to yours, and select them from the drop-down menu.
6. If you are finished working on your News Story, you have the following options in the “Save As” drop-down menu at the bottom of the page:
1. Needs Review: Send the page for review and publication. See Publishing Content for more information.
2. Draft: Save the page as a draft without sending for approval or publication. See Saving Content as a Draft for more information.
7. Click "Save", and you're done!