Where to find the Live Blogs section 

To create a blog, first select the three lines at the top of the left menu.

Then select the Live Blogs menu option.

Creating a new blog

Opening the Live Blogs section displays a red + NEW BLOG button. Select this to create a new blog.

To create a blog, administrators must take just four steps. They are:

1. Add the blog title.
2. Add a slug. This is the main identifier of your blog, and it's part of the blog's URL once published. 
3. Optionally, add the blog publisher. This is a free text that distinguishes the post author from the publisher.
4. Select one or more languages. Adding multiple languages creates the same blog in different languages.
5. Select the big red CREATE button.

Basic setup details

Adding a title and slug, and selecting your blog's language, is the minimum you need to do to create a blog. There are many more areas to look at before creating a blog.

Administrators can change the following:

1. Sports events: Through a connection with the Sport Data Platform, pick a sports event, or match, from a dropdown. Your blog gets linked to that event or match. Some of your blog's settings automatically update in line with the chosen event or match.
   
2. Time zone: This feature is useful for international content teams; for example, an editor in London is covering an event in Tokyo. This is an important step as the time stamps in published live blog content update to reflect the right time zone chosen here.
   
   Users also can toggle between the time zone of their web browser, and the time zone selected when a blog is set up.
   
   
3. Blog coverage: Administrators can specify when a blog starts and ends. This is useful for sports that have a defined coverage window, like a football match. In case the match goes on extra time, administrators can update the blog coverage.
   
   
4. Additional details
   
   
   1. Description: This is a summary of what the blog is and can show on the front-end.

      Note: The Description box supports rich text with advanced styling options like heading levels, bold, italic, bullet points, font typefaces, and text.

   2. Tags: Administrators can add tags to make sure content displays in the right section of a product. For example, editors can use the tag Athletics for the blog to appear in the Athletics section of a website. The tagging process is the same as FORGE (for example, see how to tag a story). If external tags are used, and are the same in LIVE BLOGGING and FORGE, the content displays in the same sections. For example, tagging the player Gianluigi Buffon in both LIVE BLOGGING and FORGE content means both types of content appear on that player's profile page.
5. Cover image: Administrators can add a cover image with caption and copyright.
   
    

Monetization details

Administrators can change a blog's monetization settings when creating one. The following sections are editable:

1. Insert advertisement posts automatically: Administrators can define when an advert must be automatically shared during a live blog. The LIVE BLOGGING tool offers advice around which frequency is best — we'd advise no fewer than six posts between adverts.
   
2. Insert a companion ad after a sponsored post: This feature links a chosen advert directly to an action. For example, if a client has a deal to show an advert for Coca-Cola every time a goal is scored, this feature links these two actions.
   
3. Add more blog targets: It is important to add new blogs to Google AD Manager. This makes it easier to make money from blogs. Administrators can add up to 10 targets. To add a target, use an underscore and keep lower case, for example football_player. But, once a target is added, an administrator can add an accompanying value that's written normally, for example, Lionel Messi.
   

Widget details

Administrators should check the Widget settings before creating a Live Blog. These settings control how a Live Blog behaves when created:

• Whether it can be shared on social media,
• If fans need to press a Load more button after each page, etc.

The following widget sections are editable:

1. Post sharing: This enables fans to share Live Blog posts on social media or through their clipboard.
   
2. Advanced settings
   
   
   1. Show blog definition header: This enables administrators to decide whether a blog shows a header with a blog title. Or it just starts by showing the latest blog post.
      
   2. Local time / Event time switch: This enables administrators to decide whether a blog shows either the fan's local time or local time.
      
   3. Show key moments timeline: This enables editors to select Live Blog posts that will appear at the top of blogs as key moments.
      >
   4. Pagination type: Administrators can decide whether fans see an infinite scroll view (blog content runs all the way down a page). Or they see a load-more view (fans have to click a Load more button to see more blog content at the bottom of a page). 
      

Once the blog is configured, select the red CREATE button. Selecting the CANCEL button returns you to the blog menu and your blog is saved as a draft.

After a new blog is created, the blog displays at the top of the list of blogs in the Live Blogs section.