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Who This Is For

This guide is for editors, publishers, and outlet owners who want to register their news organization on PressChain. Individual journalists can participate without an outlet, but to publish Capsules under your newsroom’s brand and access the full distribution network, you need an outlet registration.

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Real Scenario: The Tribune Comes to PressChain

The Bay Tribune is a 30-year-old regional newspaper with a digital edition. Their editor-in-chief, David Okafor, wants to establish the Tribune’s canonical journalism record on PressChain and open up rights licensing for their investigative work. Here’s how David onboards The Tribune.

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What Onboarding Requires

Outlet onboarding requires a serious economic commitment. This is intentional - it prevents spam outlets and ensures every organization has real accountability backing.
ItemAmountWhat It Is
Onboarding fee25,000 PRESSOne-time admission fee (consumed)
Required bond250,000 PRESSLocked collateral - returned when outlet closes
Total needed275,000 PRESS
The bond is not a fee. It’s collateral. If The Tribune maintains good standing - no serious court misconduct findings - the bond stays in their control and is returned if they ever close their account.

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Step by Step

1

Prepare your PRESS

David needs 275,000 PRESS. On testnet, these are free tPRESS from the faucet. On mainnet, acquire PRESS through swap.presschain.io.He also needs PressKey installed with the outlet admin wallet loaded.
2

Go to Portal → Register Outlet

David visits portal.presschain.io → Outlet → Register New Outlet.He fills in:
  • Outlet name: The Bay Tribune
  • Outlet slug: the-bay-tribune (permanent - choose carefully)
  • Domain: baytribune.com
  • Outlet wallet: The controlling wallet address
The outlet slug is permanent. It appears in all Capsule IDs, API calls, and distribution feeds. Once set, it cannot be changed.
3

Pay fee and lock bond

PressKey opens two approval prompts:
  1. Approve 25,000 PRESS spend (onboarding fee)
  2. Approve 250,000 PRESS bond lock
Both transactions confirm on-chain. David’s Portal dashboard updates to show the outlet in “Pending Verification” state.
4

Verify the domain

After payment confirms, David gets a verification token in the Portal. He adds a DNS TXT record to baytribune.com’s DNS:
Type:  TXT
Host:  @
Value: presschain-verify=abc123...
Once the TXT record propagates, he clicks Verify in the Portal. Full domain guide →
5

Configure the publishing workflow

David chooses:
  • Auto-stage all posts - every new article creates a Capsule draft automatically
  • WordPress SYNC - connects their WordPress install to PressChain
WordPress guide →
6

Add journalists

David adds his reporters and editors to the outlet:
  • Each journalist installs PressKey
  • David assigns their role (Reporter, Editor, etc.)
  • Each journalist bonds their role
Journalists can also be added to specific Capsules as contributors with defined revenue shares.
7

Enable modules

Required:
  • Press Network feed - must be active on the Tribune’s site (mandatory)
Optional:
  • Voting widget on article pages
  • Canonical integrity badge
  • Rights licensing
  • Ad marketplace

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What Unlocks After Onboarding

Publishing

Submit Capsules under the Tribune brand. View staged queue, acceptance probability simulation, vote progress.

Distribution

Access to the Press Network, topic channels, regional channels, and language channels. Distribution tier based on acceptance rate.

Import Tools

One-time RSS import of the Tribune’s entire article archive. Continuous sync for new articles.

Revenue

Rights licensing, ad marketplace, settlement reports. All revenue routes automatically.

Compliance

Legal proof bundles, Capsule lineage exports, vote breakdowns, court outcome reports.

Analytics

Acceptance rates, integrity score, distribution reach, rights revenue by article.

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Outlet Status

Your outlet can be in these states:
StatusMeaning
activeFully operational
domain_suspendedDNS verification lapsed - publishing paused
bond_insufficientBond dropped below minimum - operations paused
court_restrictedCourt order restricting operations
If the Tribune’s domain verification lapses (say, after a DNS migration), David gets an alert in the Portal. He re-adds the TXT record, re-verifies, and after a 24-hour stabilization window the outlet is back to active.

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The Mandatory Press Network Module

Every PressHash outlet must display the Press Network feed - a module showing recently accepted Capsules from across the network. It’s non-intrusive (sidebar or footer), but it is required. Disabling it triggers:
  • A Brand Separation Fee (PRESS charge)
  • A distribution tier downgrade
  • A permanent public log entry
This is an enforcement mechanism. Outlets that benefit from the network must contribute to its visibility.