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Digital Experience Studio

University Communications and Marketing

  • Experience Program
  • Experience Design
  • Website Technology
  • Social Media
  • Analytics
  • News and Events

< Experience Program

  • Website Project Process
  • Working with a Vendor
  • Glossary
  • Taxonomy Data Dictionary

< Experience Design

  • Website Strategy
  • Website Structure
  • Information Architecture and Navigation
  • User-Centered Design Conventions
  • Common UX Issues
  • Enterprise Design System
  • Content Planning
  • Creating Accessible Content
  • Taxonomy and Filters

< Website Technology

  • Web Standards
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Cascade CMS
  • Sitecore CMS
  • Content Hub Overview
  • Content Hub DAM
  • Content Hub Operations

SitecoreAI

Sitecore user login

< Social Media

  • Alt Text Bookmarklet
  • Meta Ad Pixel
  • Social Media and Web Integration
  • Sprinklr

Sprinklr

Sprinklr user login

< Analytics

  • Google Analytics (GA4)
  • Testing
  • Data Visualization

Google Analytics

Google Analytics user login

< News and Events

  • News and Updates
  • Events and Trainings
Digital Experience Studio > Website Technology > Sitecore CMS > Sitecore Component Guide >

News

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News

The News feature provides a means for adding news content to a website, such as a news release, story or blog post. Each news item is a web page built on the Story Page template. The news items within a website are automatically grouped into a filterable and searchable News Listing Page on the website. Story Pages can also be promoted in components on other web pages. See the pages below for information on how to work with the News feature in SitecoreAI. 

A screenshot of a news listing grid page, showing four filters and six story tiles
Figure 1: Example of a News Listing Page.

Note for University Communications and Marketing staff:
Stories appearing on MSUToday are typically created using Content Hub and then pushed to the website through workflows. Please see the Content Hub documentation for information on generating MSUToday stories. 

The News instructions on this page are applicable to News content created directly within SitecoreAI on non-MSUToday websites. 

Feature Information

  • Usage
    • The News feature can be used to add story-based content to a website, including news releases, news stories and blog posts. 
    • All news items use the Story Page layout.
    • Each news item is associated with a specific date. 
    • News items display in a listing view that can be filtered by story type, story topic, department and date or date range.
  • Best Practices

    • Frequently Asked Questions

    How does a unit get News added to a website?

    To request the News feature be activated on a unit website, fill out and submit this form. 

    The digital experience program manager will generate a ticket, and a member of the University Communications and Marketing platforms group will activate the feature on the website. 

    Using News in SitecoreAI

    News Story Page

    Each news item creates a Story Page built from various story-related page components, such as rich text or image carousels. Story Pages have story-specific data template fields to enhance a website visitor’s experience in exploring and reading content. 

    Explore the layout

    News Listing Page

    News Listing Pages are automatically populated listing views of the Story Pages on a website. These Listing Pages are filterable using the data template taxonomy and date fields, enabling users to find the story they’re interested in reading. As Story Pages are added to the website and published, they’ll automatically populate into the site’s News Listing Page. 

    Showcase stories

    News Taxonomy

    In addition to global taxonomy options, units can create custom taxonomy options to enable search and filters based on Story Topics, Story Types and Backend Tags.

    Enable content tagging

    News Contacts

    Before an individual can be listed as the author or media contact on a story, they must be in the Sitecore system as a News Contact. Learn how to create, edit and assign News Contacts. 

    Feature story contacts

    Documentation updated: June 8, 2026

    Is there an issue with this documentation? Report it here.

    • Assign open graph data to each Story Page. This ensures that Story Pages are optimized when sharing to social media, including a proper headline, description and thumbnail image.
    • Fill out all relevant taxonomy fields for each Story Page. This ensures that story filters accurately represent the full available collection of content matching a selected filter parameter.
    • Ensure all staff are familiar with how taxonomy fields are to be used for the website so that story tagging is consistent.
    • Units should limit their selected options within a taxonomy category (e.g., Story Types, Story Topics) to 10 selections across the site.
  • Expected Behavior
    • News Listing Pages can be viewed in a list or grid layout. This toggle option cannot be turned off.
    • All Story Pages appear as linked items on the listing page.
    • The News Listing Page can be filtered by Story Topic, Story Type, Department or date range.
    • Larger units with sub-units (i.e., college with departments) can also add Department filters. For example, news on the College of Education website could be filtered by the college’s academic departments. 
  • Related Information

    • Similar features:

    • Events — Events behave in a similar way to News items. Events and News are activated together but can be used independently.

    Related components:

    • Featured News and Events — The Featured News and Events component includes several variants, allowing content authors to feature news and/or events, using either manual or automatic curation, on a webpage.
    • Grid Container — News stories can be featured in a Grid Container by including an image and link to the story page within a Grid Container cell. This must be manually curated and updated.
    • Mixed Content — News stories can be featured in a Mixed Content Container by including an image and link to the story page within a container cell. This must be manually curated and updated.
    Can grid (or list) view be turned off on the News Listing Page?

    No, the News Listing Page offers both grid and listing views to provide website visitors with the optimal user experience. 

    How many stories are listed on a News Listing Page?

    Content authors can adjust the number of stories listed on a page using pagination controls in the News Listing presentation settings. 

    Can a unit customize the taxonomy (i.e., filter labels and options) for the news on the website?

    Yes and no. 

    Units can customize which filters are available on the News Listing Page from the list of available filters. Additional filters cannot be added because creating or modifying categories requires custom development. If a unit has a need for a new filter category, contact University Communications and Marketing to discuss your use case. There may be unit expense related to the custom development of additional category filters. University Communications and Marketing will discuss options with the unit prior to moving forward with any work that may lead to expenses. 

    Units can customize the options listed under Story Topics, Story Types and Backend Tags. Story Topics and Story Types can be used as filters, while Backend Tags can inform search results but cannot be used as frontend filters. University Communications and Marketing has provided a recommended set of Story Topics and Story Types to help units get started. See “News Taxonomy” for instructions and additional information. 

    Which topic field(s) should be tagged for each story?
    Why is a specific option not appearing in a drop-down filter?

    The filters are contextual and additive. Options will only appear in the drop-downs if there is story content tagged that matches the applied filters. If multiple filters are in use, the available options in the second (or third, etc.) filters will automatically update to contain only what is available in content on the site that already meets the other applied active filters. 

    Does every story have to have a summary and hero banner?

    No, these components are optional. If an author does not add content to these sections they will not display in the published page, even though the Summary placeholder will be visible in Page Builder.  

    Why can’t a user see news items in their site’s Content Tree?

    This typically occurs when “Hidden Items” and “Buckets” are not selected to display in Content Editor. 

    Screenshot of the View toolbar in Content Editor showing Content Tree, Entire Tree, Hidden Items and Buckets are checked.
    Figure 2: The “Hidden Items” and “Buckets” options are checked in the View tab of the Content Editor navigation ribbon.

    In Content Editor:

    1. Click the View tab on the navigation ribbon.
    2. Check Hidden Items and Buckets.
    3. Items should now be visible in the Content Tree.

    If you’re still experiencing issues, email University Communications and Marketing to generate a support ticket. Include the website URL, production environment, and details regarding the news items you’re expecting to see. 

    Where did a newly created story page move to? 

    Story Pages are automatically bucketed by year and month, based on the date field set on the page. When a content author creates a page, it will be bucketed with the date of the Story Page’s creation. If the author changes the Date field in the Story Information section of Content Editor, the page will move to that date’s corresponding bucket. 

    Can news be scheduled to publish at a specific later date and time?

    Not currently. This is an enhancement that University Communications and Marketing hopes to add in the future. It is on the development roadmap. For now, users can set a timeframe for when a story is “publishable” to ensure it isn’t accidentally published too early, but the news item must be manually published during the “publishable” window. 

    See “Publishing Restrictions” for instructions.