# Student Reporter User Manual ## Getting started ### Registering an account Visit the site and click **Register** in the top navigation. Fill in your full name, email, department, year level, and a password. You'll receive a verification email — click the link to activate your account before you can submit content. If the email doesn't arrive within a few minutes, check your spam folder. Contact your editor or administrator if the link has expired. ### Logging in Click **Login** in the top navigation. Use the email and password you registered with. If you've forgotten your password, click **Forgot password?** on the login page. --- ## Submitting content ### The draft/submit workflow All content types (news, blog, audio, video, podcast) follow the same two-stage flow: 1. **Save Draft** — saves your work without submitting it for review. You can save a draft with just a title. Come back and edit it any time from **My Content**. 2. **Submit for Review** — sends your content to the editorial queue. Required fields are checked at this stage (a draft can be minimal; a submission must be complete). You cannot edit a submitted piece — contact your editor if changes are needed. ### News Reports (`student/submit-news.php`) - **Title** (required): clear and specific, max 220 characters - **Category**: choose from Campus Events, Sports, Investigations, etc. - **Summary**: a brief introduction to the story (shown on the homepage and in search results) - **Body**: the full article text - **Tags**: up to 6 comma-separated keywords to help with discovery - **Featured image**: JPEG, PNG, or WEBP, max 3MB ### Blog Articles (`student/submit-blog.php`) Same fields as news. Blog articles appear separately from news and are suited for opinion, analysis, and longer-form writing. ### Audio Reports (`student/submit-audio.php`) - **Audio file**: MP3, M4A, OGG, or WAV, max 25MB. Uploaded directly to the server. - The duration is detected automatically once the file is selected. - Featured image is optional but strongly recommended — it appears on the audio report page and in search results. ### Video Posts (`student/submit-video.php`) - **YouTube URL**: paste the full `youtube.com/watch?v=...` link. The video is never uploaded to this site — only the YouTube link is stored. - A thumbnail preview appears automatically from YouTube. You can also upload a custom thumbnail image. - The video must be publicly accessible on YouTube (not private or unlisted). ### Podcasts (`student/submit-podcast.php`) - **Audio URL**: an external link from Cloudinary, Bunny Storage, Backblaze B2, or a similar CDN. Podcasts are never uploaded directly to this site — use external hosting. - **Cover image**: uploaded locally (small file, unlike the audio itself). - The duration is read automatically from the external URL once you paste it. --- ## My Content (`student/my-content.php`) Shows all your drafts, submitted items, and published pieces across all content types and podcasts. Each item shows its current status: | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | **Draft** | Saved but not submitted. You can edit or delete it. | | **Awaiting Review** | Submitted to the editorial queue. Waiting for an editor. | | **Published** | Approved and live on the site. | | **Needs Revision** | Editor sent it back with feedback. Edit and resubmit. | | **Rejected** | Declined with a note explaining why. You can create a new piece. | When a piece needs revision or is rejected, the editor's note appears directly on the card. Read it carefully before resubmitting. --- ## Requesting Airtime (`student/request-airtime.php`) Submit a request for a live radio broadcast slot. Fill in the date (must be in the future), your preferred time slot (e.g. "3:00 PM – 4:00 PM"), and the topic you'll be covering. An editor will approve or reject the request and may leave a note. --- ## Saved Content (`student/favorites.php`) On any article, podcast, or video page, click the **Save** (bookmark) button to add it to your Saved Content list. You must be logged in to save content. Click the button again to unsave. --- ## Liking and commenting Any visitor (including guests who aren't logged in) can like a piece of content. Click the heart button on any single-content page. Click again to unlike. To comment, type your comment in the box below the article. Logged-in users post as their registered name. Guests can post with just a display name. To reply to a comment, click Reply beneath it. You can remove your own comments by clicking Remove next to the comment. --- ## AI Journalism Tools (`student/ai-tools.php`) Seven tools are available to help you write and improve your reporting: | Tool | What it does | |---|---| | **Headline Generator** | Suggests 5 headline options for your topic | | **Story Outline Generator** | Creates a structured outline for your article | | **Interview Question Generator** | Produces 10 tiered questions for an interview | | **News Summary Generator** | Condenses a full article to 3 sentences | | **Grammar Checker** | Finds and fixes grammar and spelling errors | | **SEO Title Generator** | Suggests 5 search-engine-optimised page titles | | **Article Improvement Suggestions** | Provides structured editorial feedback | Each tool has a daily usage limit (set by your administrator). The counter resets at midnight server time. If a tool is greyed out, it has been temporarily disabled by an administrator. **Important:** AI tools are writing assistants, not ghostwriters. Use the output as a starting point or reference — your article should reflect your own reporting and judgment. Submitting AI-generated text as your own work without disclosure may violate your institution's academic integrity policy. --- ## Analytics (`student/analytics.php`) Shows plays, downloads, and total listening time for your published podcast episodes. Figures are browser-reported best estimates, not exact metering. The page only shows data for approved podcasts. --- ## Enabling push notifications Click **Enable Notifications** (the bell button in the bottom-right corner of any page) to receive browser notifications when breaking news is published, a new podcast episode is released, or the radio station goes live. You can disable them at any time by clicking the button again (it will show "Notifications On"). Push notifications require your browser's notification permission. If you accidentally clicked "Block", you'll need to reset notification permissions for this site in your browser settings.