CMS App Starter · Industry version
Publisher CMS Template
A newsroom-shaped CMS — sections, curated fronts, embargoes, corrections — generated into code your publication owns.
A publication isn't a blog with more posts. It's desks with editors, a homepage that's an argument about priority, embargoes with legal weight, and corrections with a policy. This starter models that newsroom structure in the schema and gives the code to the people who ship the site.
- 7 content entities
- Draft → publish workflow
- Code you own
- Vibe + Governed modes
01 · The problem
Why a generic CMS falls short
Generic CMS platforms assume one queue of posts in reverse-chronological order. A publication runs desks: politics, culture, and features each have their own editors, their own review standards, and their own section front that someone curates. Flattening that into a category dropdown erases the org chart the content actually flows through.
The homepage is the sharpest mismatch. On a real publication it's a curated surface — a lead story held above fresher items, a features package pinned through the weekend — not a feed. When curation isn't modeled, front-page editing happens through hacks: fake timestamps, sticky flags, and a nightly prayer.
And publishing carries obligations blogs don't have. Embargoed stories must not leak early by anyone's slip; corrections must be visible, dated, and preserved; competing bylines and contributor payments hang off authorship data. These are schema problems, and rented schemas don't bend to them.
02 · Data model
The data model, adapted
Everything in the base CMS starter —
postspagescategoriestagsmediaauthorscomments— plus the entities this industry actually runs on:
| table | what it holds |
|---|---|
sections | Desks with their own editors, review rules, and front pages — the newsroom's org chart, in the schema. |
featured_slots | Named curation positions — lead, secondary, package rail — that editors assign stories into, with scheduling. |
corrections | Dated, visible amendments linked to the story and its revision history — policy made structural. |
03 · Screens
Modules through the industry lens
Desk-based editorial workflow
01Stories route through their section's pipeline — writer to desk editor to copy to publish — and each desk sees its own queue. The politics editor can't accidentally ship a features draft, and the workflow report shows where stories stall by desk.
Front-page curation board
02Editors drag stories into featured slots on a visual board and schedule handovers — the 6 a.m. front differs from the noon front by plan, not by whoever woke up first. The feed still runs underneath for everything uncurated.
Embargo-aware scheduling
03An embargoed story is locked at the schema level: invisible on the public site, watermarked in the admin, and released to the second. The pre-publication URL never resolves publicly — a category of career-ending error, structurally removed.
04 · In practice
Workflows it models
Morning front-page turn
01The overnight editor reviews what moved, drags the developing story into the lead slot, schedules the handover for 6 a.m., and annotates the decision. The curation log shows who fronted what and when — institutional memory the next editor inherits.
Embargoed investigation launch
02The story sits complete and locked for a week while legal reads it. At 00:01 on launch day it publishes itself: front slot, section lead, and social metadata all pre-staged. Nobody stays up to press the button, and nobody can press it early.
Correction with a paper trail
03A misstated figure gets fixed in the text; the correction record appends the dated note the style guide requires, preserves the prior revision, and renders the notice on the story. Reader trust is a workflow here, not a footnote culture.
Publisher CMS template — frequently asked questions
Can it handle multiple sections with different editors?
Sections are entities with their own editor assignments, review rules, and fronts. Permissions follow desk membership, so the culture desk runs its pipeline without touching news — and a shared story can carry both desks' review explicitly.
How does homepage curation actually work?
Featured slots are named positions editors fill from a drag-and-drop board, with scheduled changeovers. Curation is data — which means the front can be A/B tested, audited, and handed between shifts without a single fake timestamp.
Does it support contributor and freelancer bylines?
Authors are decoupled from login accounts, so freelancers get real bylines, bios, and archives without system access. Per-story contributor records can carry rates and payment status if the desk manages freelance budgets in-system.
Can we add a paywall or membership later?
Yes — the codebase is yours, so metering rules, gated sections, or a membership join with the Dual7 membership starter are engineering decisions you can take when the audience justifies them, with no platform tax on the revenue.
Related
Dual7 App Starters
Build your Publisher CMS on your terms
A newsroom-shaped CMS — sections, curated fronts, embargoes, corrections — generated into code your publication owns. Describe your version to start — the output is a project you own.