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How to Find Stories

This guide covers how to search for stories in your group, filter results to find what you need, preview stories before downloading, and bookmark stories for your colleagues.

Before You Begin

You will need:

Instructions

  1. Log in to your Plucky Wire account.

  2. Go to the Search page at https://wire.pluckyworks.org/search/.

    You can also click Search in the navigation menu at the top of any page.

Search for Stories

  1. In the search bar at the top of the results area, type a word or phrase from the headline you're looking for.

  2. Press Enter or click Search.

    Results update automatically as you type (after a brief delay) or when you submit.

Filter Your Results

Use the filter panel on the left side of the page to narrow your results. You can combine multiple filters.

Last 24 hours
Show only stories added or updated in the past day.
Has audiovisuals
Show only stories that include images, audio, video, or PDF attachments.
Bookmarked
Show only stories that someone at your outlet has flagged for consideration.
Hide embargoed
Exclude stories that aren't available for reprint yet.
Tags
Filter by geographical, editorial, or topical tags assigned to stories.
Word count
Set minimum and maximum word counts using the slider.
Outlets
Show stories from specific outlets in your group.
Publication date
Filter by a date range.
Series
Show stories from a particular series.
Licenses
Filter by content license type.

Tip

Click Reset to clear all filters and start fresh.

Understanding Results

The results table shows key information about each story:

Column What it shows
Bookmark Flag stories for your colleagues to consider (hover to see who bookmarked it)
Headline Story title, word count, series name (if any), and publication date
Attachments Icons showing what media is included (photos, videos, audio, PDFs, embeds)
Tags Color-coded badges for tags assigned to the story
Source Logos or initials of the outlet(s) that published the story
Activity How many outlets have viewed or downloaded the story

Info

Stories with corrections, retractions, or other edit warnings display a badge next to the headline.

Bookmark Stories for Your Team

Bookmarks help editors coordinate which stories your outlet is considering for republication. When you bookmark a story, everyone at your outlet can see it, no need to send links back and forth.

  1. In the search results, click the bookmark icon next to any story you want to flag for your team.

    The icon fills in to show the story is bookmarked.

  2. Hover over a bookmarked story's icon to see who bookmarked it and when.

  3. To view all bookmarked stories, check the Bookmarked filter checkbox.

  4. To remove a bookmark, click the bookmark icon again.

Note

Bookmarks are shared across your outlet. All colleagues at your outlet see the same bookmarks, making it easy to coordinate which stories you're considering.

Preview a Story

  1. Click a story's headline to open the full story page.

  2. Review the story content:

    • Read the full headline, sub-headline, and body text
    • View attached audiovisuals (click to enlarge)
    • Check embedded media (YouTube videos, data visualizations, DocumentCloud PDFs, etc.)
    • Review the publication date and word count
    • Check for any editor's notes or edit history

  3. Use the browser's back button to return to your search results.

Bug

(Jan 2026) We've heard that sometimes using the back button can cause issues with reloading the Search page, making the search results appear without the rest of the page. If you experience this, please click "Search" in the navbar to reset the page.

The issue is caused by how some browsers save (or don't save) search results, but we will properly handle these differences soon. Thank you in advance for your patience!

Next Steps

Once you've found a story you want to use:

Troubleshooting

  • No stories found: Try broadening your search. Remove filters, clear the search text, or check that you haven't set conflicting filter options (like a narrow date range).

  • I can't see stories from a specific outlet: Make sure that outlet is a member of the group you're currently viewing. You can only see stories shared within your group.

  • A story shows as embargoed: Embargoed stories can't be viewed or downloaded until the embargo date passes. Please check the story again after the embargo date has passed.

  • I can't see my colleagues' bookmarks: Bookmarks are shared within an outlet, so first please make sure you've got the correct outlet selected in the upper navbar.

Info

Bookmarks are not available for Group Admins. If you work on Plucky Wire as both a Group Admin and you're affiliated with an Outlet, please switch to your Outlet in the top navbar to see your Outlet's bookmarks.