Live blog is a dynamic content type that lets you cover developing live events in real-time by publishing a series of posts on a live feed.
What's inside this article:
- Complete required settings
- Add a Main image
- Set when the LIVE badge appears
- Add posts
- Connect a Twitter feed
- Add Highlights
- Manage General settings
- Use the preview
- Further recommendations
Complete required settings
To create a new Live blog, click New > Content > Live blog in the top menu.
The Editor screen contains all the required settings. You must complete the required settings below before saving the Live blog:
- (A): Enter a title in the Add title here... box.
- (B): Click Type and select category name and assign the Live blog to at least one category.
After completing the settings above and clicking Save, you can add the first post to the Live blog.
The status controls when the Live blog is available on the public website. Manage the status using the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. For more information, see the following article:
Add a Main image
The Main image is displayed in the left panel on the published Live blog page. If you do not add separate Website teaser and Social media images, the Main image is also used by default to promote the Live blog on the public website and via social media.
It is possible to add the following items as a Main image:
- Internal images: Images uploaded by Pangea CMS users.
- External images: Images from external agencies - Reuters and AP (Associated Press).
- Content items: The following visual content items created by your own website:
- Loop video
- Photo gallery
- Slider gallery
- Video
- Dynamic infographics
To add a Main image:
- Click Select content on the Editor screen.
- The Attach dialog appears. Follow the relevant step, depending on your chosen Main image:
- Internal image: Ensure Images > Internal is selected.
- External image: Select Images > External.
- Content item: Select Content.
- Internal image: Ensure Images > Internal is selected.
- Optionally adjust the additional search filters in the left panel, and click Search to refresh the search results.
- Click + Attach (the plus icon) next to the item you want to use as the Main image.
The item is added as the Main image.
If necessary, click the Crop the image icon to crop the image. When cropping the image, the optimal 16:9 aspect ratio is automatically maintained to ensure the image is properly displayed.
The Main image caption is available directly below the image on the Editor screen. You can remove or edit the caption. The caption is visible on the published Live blog page.
Set when the LIVE badge appears
You can set a start time and an end time for the Live blog. During this time, the LIVE badge appears on the published Live blog page. If the Live blog is connected to a Twitter feed, Tweets are automatically added to the Live blog only when it is live.
To set when your Live blog will start and end, click Live broadcasting in the left panel.
Adjust the following settings according to your preferences:
- (A): Broadcast time zone: Select the time zone. Your website time zone is pre-selected by default.
- (B): Date & time from: Set the start time for the Live blog (format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM).
- (C): Date & time to: Set the end time for the Live blog (format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM).
- (D): Display time stamp: Tick this box if you want to include a time stamp next to each post to show exactly when it was published.
Click Save or Save & close to confirm and apply your preferences.
Add posts
After the required settings are completed, you can start adding posts.
Add a post using one of the following methods:
- On the Live blog edit screen, click New post.
- On the main Search page, click + New blog entry (the plus icon) in the relevant box.
For detailed information, see the following article:
Connect a Twitter feed
When a Live blog is connected to a Twitter feed, certain posts from the Twitter feed are automatically added to the Live blog as posts. To get started, click Twitter feed in the left panel.
For detailed instructions, see the following article:
Add a Highlights section
A Highlights section appears in the left panel on the published Live blog page. The aim is to provide visitors with an at-a-glance summary of Live blog developments with links to key posts.
A Highlights section does not appear unless you manually enable it. You can enable Highlights using either method below:
- (A): Go to the Highlights section on the Editor screen.
- (B): Click Highlights in the left panel.
Manually specify which posts appear in Highlights, or configure Pangea CMS to generate Highlights automatically. For detailed instructions, see the following article:
Manage General settings
Click General in the left panel to manage the following settings:
- Status: Adjust the status of the Live blog.
- Publication date & time: Adjust the publication date and time that is displayed at the top of the Live blog. Optionally schedule publication.
- Last update: Specify when the Live blog was last updated. If filled, the information is visible on the public website.
- Title: Adjust the title of the Live blog.
- Introduction: Enter a brief introductory text. Tick Display introduction to make the introduction visible on the published Live blog page.
- URL Slug: Enter a text string that is added to the URL and enhances visibility via search engines.
- Categories: Adjust which Categories the Live blog is assigned to.
- Main image: Adjust the Main image.
- Main image caption: Edit the text displayed below the Main image on the published Live blog page.
- Main image description: Review the internal description for the Main image (not visible on the public website).
- Priority: Assign priority to temporarily pin the Live blog to the top of lists on the public website.
Preview the Live blog
If the status of the Live blog is Published, click Live site at the top of the screen to open the Live blog on the public website.
Regardless of the status, you can use the options under Preview in the left panel to preview how the Live blog will look on devices with different screen sizes (desktop, tablet, or mobile).
Further recommendations
This article contains information about the most important settings for creating a Live blog. For information about other options on the Live blog edit screen, see the following articles:
