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How to Review Submissions

Approve releases for distribution or return them to the submitting organization with clear revision notes.

Before You Begin

Sign in to the Inbox site your newsroom operates, using an account authorized to review its submissions. The queue is specific to that site. For policy choices, see How to Configure Submission Review.

Open a Release

  1. Open Review Queue from your site's operator dashboard.
  2. Select Review beside a release.
  3. Read the submitted content and, for the new flow, Review context, Saved destinations, and Quality Check history.

The review context explains why the release needs a person. It may have skipped optional AI review, used a site with review off or no provider, received an unsuccessful check, or exhausted its allowance under required-to-run. A result marked historical does not qualify the submitted content.

The release shown is the submitted version. Draft checks and unfinished drafts do not appear as approved publications.

Approve Distribution

Select Approve when the release is ready. In the new beta flow, approval starts free distribution to the destinations the submitter already confirmed. Processing may take time. Repeating approval does not create another order or distribute the release twice.

A pending manual review creates no public release or recipient access. Approval permits distribution, but does not guarantee that an outlet will publish a story. Embargo restrictions continue to apply.

For an older submission, the page may instead say that approval releases the sender to distribution selection. Follow that submission's existing workflow. Requested corrections also retain their existing correction distribution steps.

Request Changes

  1. Enter a specific Reason for returning. Explain what the submitter should change.
  2. Select Return to submitter.

The accepted return gives the submitter a fresh round of three Quality Checks. Their earlier review history remains. Reopening or saving the returned release does not grant more checks. For example, a pass uses one check; an edit and another check use a second, leaving one.

If a release is blocked because a saved destination is no longer available, approval is withheld. Return it with notes so the submitter can choose available destinations and confirm again; the system does not substitute recipients silently. A release that has already entered distribution cannot simply be returned as an unsubmitted draft.

Request a Correction After Distribution

Use the receiving newsroom's correction-request workflow for a published release: How to Request a Correction or Report an Organization.

An accepted authorized revision request gives the submitting organization three fresh checks for that request. Reopening the same request does not reset the count again. The current published version remains available while the correction is edited and reviewed, then the approved correction replaces it through the existing distribution workflow. Starting a voluntary correction does not grant a new allowance.

Troubleshooting

  • The queue is empty: Confirm that you opened the correct site's queue. A passing draft has not been submitted merely because it completed a check.
  • The release changed before your decision: Reload its review page and inspect the current status before trying again.
  • Approval is still processing: Allow processing to finish. Contact support with the submission's page link if it remains stuck; do not create a replacement submission to retry distribution.
  • A submitter wants more checks: Only a new accepted, authorized revision request starts a new round. Editing, refreshing, or repeatedly reopening an old request does not.
  • Still stuck? Email support@pluckyworks.org.

Next Steps