# Top Stories

> Source: https://docs.recombee.com/recipes/news/homepage/top-stories

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

**Table of contents**

* [Introduction](#introduction)
* [Scenario Setup](#scenario-setup)
* [Logic](#logic)
* [Filters](#filters)
* [Boosters](#boosters)
* [Requesting Recommendations](#requesting-recommendations)  
   * [Multiple Recommendation Boxes on the Homepage](#multiple-recommendation-boxes-on-the-homepage)

# Top Stories

![](/img/recipes/news/top-stories.png) 

## Introduction

The **Top Stories** section is a key feature in most news platforms, designed to spotlight the most significant, trending, and engaging stories of the day.

This recipe will guide you in setting up a Top Stories scenario that blends up-to-date news articles, personalized recommendations based on user behavior, and editorial curation.

## Scenario Setup

In the Recombee Admin UI, navigate to the **[Scenarios](/scenarios)** section and select **Create Scenario**.

1. Enter a **Scenario ID**, such as _"top-stories"_
2. Choose **Recommendation type** \- _[Items to User](/api#recommend-items-to-user)_

![Admin UI - Scenario Setup](/img/recipes/news/top-stories-create-scenario.png)

## Logic

The **[Logic](/recommendation_logics)** determines the behavior of the recommendation engine.

* Select the **[news:daily-news](/recommendation_logics#news-daily-news)** logic type from the **News** models. This Logic prioritizes delivering top daily stories tailored to your audience.

You can configure the following parameters to refine the recommendations.

`editorsPicks` An optional list of editor-selected stories that will be prepended before algorithmically recommended content. This list can be managed:

* Directly in the Recombee Admin UI.
* Dynamically via the [API parameter](/recommendation_logics#recommendation-logics-set-via-api) in the recommendation request, enabling integration with an external CMS.

The `publishedTimestamp` specifies the property in your item catalog that stores the article's publication timestamp. This ensures that the model can prioritize fresh articles.

![Admin UI - Logic](/img/recipes/news/top-stories-logic.png)

## Filters

Tip: Recent Articles Filter

By default, the Logic accounts for article freshness and recommends trending or breaking content.

However, to enforce a strict limit (e.g., excluding articles older than 24 hours), you can configure a filter in the Admin UI.

1. Navigate to the **[Filters](/scenarios#filters)** tab and **Add first filter**.
2. Find _Recent items_, and click **+**.
3. Specify the **property** in your item catalog that represents the **publish date**.
4. Define the maximum age of articles (e.g. 1 day).

![Admin UI - Filter - Recent Items](/img/recipes/news/recent-items-filter.png)

## Boosters

**[Boosters](/scenarios#boosters)** allow you to influence the recommendation engine to prioritize certain types of content. For example, you can boost promoted content or articles handpicked by editors to give them higher visibility.

Tip: Boost Editor's Picks

If editors mark certain articles as preferred, and this information is exported to the Items catalog as a property, you can set up a Booster to increase the visibility of these articles.

1. Navigate to the **[Boosters](/scenarios#boosters)** tab and **Add first booster**.
2. Find _Boost editors' picks_ and click **+**.
3. Specify the **property** in your item catalog that identifies **the picked articles** (the property should have a value of _true_ for these articles).
4. Use the _Preview_ tool to adjust the **Boosting coefficient** slider and find the optimal level of boosting for these articles.

![Admin UI - Booster - Editor's Picks](/img/recipes/news/editors-picks-boosters.png)

## Requesting Recommendations

There are three ways to retrieve recommendations.

1. **[No-Code Widget](/no-code-widgets)** – create a No-Code Widget using the **visual editor in the Admin UI** to embed recommendations without coding.
2. **[Widget SDKs](/widget-sdks)** – use the SDK for a [Carousel](/widget-sdks#carousel), [Grid](/widget-sdks#grid), or [Feed](/widget-sdks#feed) to display the recommendations in the design of your choice. Use the [Recommend Items to User](/api#recommend-items-to-user) endpoint when initializing the widget.
3. **[API SDK](/api_clients)** – request the [Recommend Items to User](/api#recommend-items-to-user) endpoint of the Recombee API using an SDK of your choice.

For further details, visit the **Integration** tab in the scenario configuration within the Admin UI.

### Multiple Recommendation Boxes on the Homepage

If your homepage includes multiple recommendation sections — such as [personalized category-based sections](/recipes/news/homepage/personalized-sections-with-reordering) or [cross-site recommendations](/recipes/news/homepage/cross-site-recommendations) — you typically want to avoid duplication of content among the boxes. To achieve this:

* Use a single [Batch request](/api#batch) to send all recommendation requests at once.
* Enable the [distinctRecomms parameter](/api#batch-example-using-distinctrecomms-parameter-to-deduplicate-results-in-multiple-boxes) in the batch request to prevent overlapping articles between sections.

The [Widget SDKs](/widget-sdks) handle this functionality automatically.