Release schedule:
The Pangea 8.35 release is scheduled for October 15th 2024 at the times listed below:
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
- Prague time: 06:00 am - 07:30 am
- DC / Miami time: 00:00 am - 01:30 am
Voice of America
- DC / Miami time: 02:30 am - 04:00 am
- Prague time: 08:30 am - 10:00 am
Office of Cuba Broadcasting
- DC / Miami time: 04:00 am - 05:00 am
- Prague time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
LibertyNet
- Prague time: 07:30 am - 08:30 am
- DC / Miami time: 01:30 am - 02:30 am
What's new?
- Updates for Pangea CMS:
- Updates for Pangea websites:
- Retired pages and features:
New Content approval
The new Content approval workflow supports updates to published content. When Content approval is enabled for your service in Pangea CMS:
- Changes to published content can be saved internally without overwriting the published version.
- All changes to published content need approval before publication. This ensures a second set of eyes to check the quality and accuracy of the updated content.
Shortly after the 8.35 release, we will enable Content approval for a small number of pilot services. As long as no serious issues are identified, Content approval will be enabled for more services in the following weeks. We will organize the rollout by division in close cooperation with News Division management.
Pangea Customer Care will run practical workshops to introduce the new workflow and answer any questions. Before we enable Content approval for a particular division, all users who are involved in this workflow will have the opportunity to attend a workshop. You can also find detailed information in our dedicated guide:
Site localization to CMS 8
We have migrated the Site localization page from CMS 7 to CMS 8. CMS 8 means improved performance and user experience compared to the old CMS 7 version of the page.
On the Site localization page, site admins can localize (or translate) the default text on webpages to the local language for the website.
With this update, we have added the following new feature on the Site localization page:
- SEO: Conveniently review and manage all text that impacts Search Engine Optimization. This means text that might appear on search engine results pages. Under Show only, select SEO. The results immediately refresh to show only the text that impacts SEO.
To learn more about the new Site localization page, see our dedicated guide:
Auto-approval for Datawrapper Snippets / Infographics
After the 8.35 release, Snippets and Dynamic infographics that contain code pasted from Datawrapper will be automatically approved in Pangea CMS. With this change, we aim to simplify the process for creating reusable Datawrapper content.
After you click Save and request approval, CMS will automatically check if the code comes from Datawrapper. If Datawrapper code is identified, the item will be immediately approved and available for use.
Square cropping for images
Square (1:1) cropping is now available for the following images in Pangea CMS:
- Author images (displayed on author bio pages)
- Statement author images (displayed on FactCheck pages)
On the public site, "Author" and "Statement author" images are displayed using the 1:1 aspect ratio within a circular frame.
Previously, "Author" and "Statement author" images could only be cropped in CMS using the standard 16:9 (rectangular) frame. Square cropping is more precise for these images and better reflects what you will see on the public site.
New custom RSS feed for Yahoo News
Site admins can now generate a custom RSS feed that meets the requirements for sharing via Yahoo News. Yahoo News is a news aggregator tool (similar to Google News), which is commonly used in Taiwan.
Go to Administration > Pangea API to generate a custom RSS feed.
Under Output format, Yahoo RSS is now available.
If you have questions about this functionality, contact Pangea Customer Care.
Template improvements for Dynamic infographics
For Dynamic infographics, we have added the new "Full-width" template.
The "Full-width" template is like the "Blank page" template, but it additionally features the site header and footer.
We have also adjusted the existing "Title and introduction" template.
Infographics published using the "Title and introduction" template will now look almost identical to article pages. The page might display authors, the "Updated" badge, and sharing buttons for social media.
Template improvements for Snippets
For Snippets, we have removed the two page-based templates that feature the site header and footer.
NOTE: Published Snippets that use one of the removed templates will be automatically converted to the "Blank" template.
For the "Blank" template, we have added the noindex tag to the code. This communicates to search engines that the Snippet should not be indexed and should not appear on search engine results pages.
With these changes, we aim to promote best practice for Snippet usage. The Snippet content type is primarily intended for creating custom embeds. For example, your service might create an interactive map to embed on an article page. Snippets should not normally be shared as standalone pages. If you want to create an infographic as a standalone page, we suggest creating a Dynamic infographic.
Separate SEO page merged with Site localization
The separate SEO (Search Engine Optimization) page is no longer available in Pangea CMS. Previously available via Settings > SEO, the SEO page allowed site admins to review and manage all configuration keys that impact SEO.
A separate SEO page is no longer needed. Now, site admins can conveniently manage SEO configuration keys on the redesigned CMS 8 Site localization page. For details, go to the following section:
Retired User activity report
The User activity report feature is no longer available in Pangea CMS. This feature was previously available via Administration > User Reports/Statistics.
We discovered during user interviews that this feature is not used and does not meet the needs of our services.