News — roster moves, broadcast deals, patch notes, format revisions

The news desk tracks five news beats: rosters, broadcast, format, patches and team operations. Every story has a Tier-A stamp unless the desk explicitly flags it Tier-B or Tier-C.

A news story is the desk's smallest published editorial artefact. A roster move, a broadcast deal, a patch note, a format revision — each is a story. The desk treats each story as a three-layer artefact: the verified fact, the contextual read, and the editorial scenario. Below is how the desk moves from a Tier-A source lock to a publishable story.

The verified fact

A verified fact is the smallest publishable editorial unit. It is the part of the story that ties to a publisher or governing body source and that the desk can re-walk against the live source ladder. A verified fact carries a Tier-A stamp by default; Tier-B only when the publisher or governing body has not yet commented and the desk has two independent press citations agreeing.

The verified fact is published with an attributed citation. The attribution names the source by publication tier (publisher, independent press, governing body), not by individual author. The attribution is re-walkable by the reader; the reader can open the source and verify the fact themselves.

The contextual read

The contextual read is the desk's short editorial around the verified fact. It explains why the fact matters in the season's larger bracket — which team is affected, which game is touched, which patch is being anchored against. The contextual read is editorial; it is stamped Tier-C and is flagged in line as EDITOR'S READ.

The contextual read is short. The desk's rule is that the contextual read sits beside the verified fact; it does not push the verified fact out of the lead. A story whose contextual read is longer than the verified fact is reframed.

The editorial scenario

The editorial scenario is the desk's forecast, projection or speculation. It is explicitly stamped EDITOR'S READ or editorial scenario. It is never the lead. It is published as a separate paragraph at the bottom of the story, with a clear fork from the verified fact and the contextual read above it.

The editorial scenario is the desk's smallest source of risk. A scenario that ages badly is corrected on the corrections log; the corrections log carries a timestamp for the scenario's first appearance and a note on what changed.

What the desk does not publish as news

The desk does not publish a story that has no Tier-A or Tier-B citation. A story sourced only from community chatter is held until the desk has an independent citation; if no citation lands within 24 hours, the story is filed under a broader editorial beat with the Tier-C read and a note on the unpublished status.

The desk does not publish a story that is promotional. Sponsorship news from a team is filed as a press release, not as an editorial story, unless the team has published the change themselves. In that case, the desk writes a news story about the change and cites the team's published page.

The desk does not publish a story that breaches editorial independence. Editorial independence is the desk's non-negotiable; the desk does not accept story tips from publishers that ask for exclusivity. The desk accepts story tips from any source; the desk verifies against the same Tier-A ladder.

The news desk runs five beats: rosters, broadcast, format, patches and team operations. Each beat drives its own coverage shape. Below is the working method the desk uses to keep each beat's coverage consistent across the season.

Rosters beat

The rosters beat covers roster moves, substitutions and contract windows. The beat uses the three-source ladder — team's own page, tournament organisation's page, independent press — and re-walks a roster move whenever one of the three sources updates. The beat's editorial cycle is hourly during tournament play and daily off-tournament.

Broadcast beat

The broadcast beat covers broadcast deals, language track additions and platform changes. The beat's editorial cycle is weekly; the beat's verification ladder is the publisher's broadcast wire plus the partner press wire. The beat publishes broadcast changes as Tier-A news; editorial language is reserved for the reader impact of broadcast changes.

Format beat

The format beat covers format changes, bracket revisions and rule changes. The beat's editorial cycle is per-cycle — major format changes are flagged at the publisher's announcement, and the editorial cycle extends through the first tournament cycle using the new format. The beat uses editorial scenario language to walk readers through the new format's likely impact.

Patches beat

The patches beat covers publisher patches and their editorial reads. The beat's editorial cycle is per-patch: balance log within 24 hours, meta shift within 24 hours, context document within 14 days. The beat treats every patch as a three-layer artefact (balance, meta, context), with each layer at its own cadence.

Team operations beat

The team operations beat covers team-level non-roster news — sponsor changes, facility moves, staffing changes. The beat's editorial cycle is per-event; the beat's verification ladder is the team's own published page plus the publisher's official wire. The beat publishes team operations news as Tier-A; the editorial scenario language covers the operations' likely impact on the team's competitive shape.