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Report Format

Garot Conklin edited this page May 14, 2026 · 2 revisions

Report Format

Each Signal report is a self-contained HTML file. This page explains what every section contains and how it is generated.


Report header

The header bar displays:

  • Date/time — UTC timestamp of report generation
  • Article count — total articles collected this run
  • Source count — number of distinct sources
  • Story cluster count — number of multi-source story clusters identified
  • Model badge — LLM provider used (claude or the Ollama model name)

Brief sections (Pass 5 output)

These six sections are written by the LLM in Pass 5. The prompt instructs the model to write like a senior intelligence analyst briefing a senior official who has no access to news media.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

2–3 paragraphs describing what is actually happening in American politics right now — not a list of stories, but a coherent picture of the current political moment. Prioritizes substance over noise.

Generated by: The FINAL_BRIEF prompt in pipeline/prompts.py

KEY ACTORS AND DYNAMICS

Who is driving events. What alliances, pressures, and conflicts are shaping outcomes. What motivations are in play that news coverage obscures.

WHAT ISN'T BEING SAID

The significant absences. What major story topics are being suppressed or ignored by one or both sides, and what that selective coverage pattern reveals.

Informed by: The blindspot analysis from Pass 4, which explicitly identifies stories covered only by left-leaning or only by right-leaning outlets.

CONNECTIONS AND PATTERNS

Non-obvious relationships between stories, actors, or legislative actions. Coordinated narratives. Suspicious timing. Things that only become visible when looking across the full corpus simultaneously.

Informed by: The hidden_connections, narrative_patterns, and anomalies from Pass 4.

WATCH LIST

Specific items to monitor in the next 48–72 hours. Each item names the entity, vote, deadline, or development and explains why it matters.

Informed by: The recommended_watch list from Pass 4. Pass 4 also compares this against the previous run's watch list (delta_from_previous) to track what has materialized or escalated.

ANALYST NOTE

One paragraph. The analyst's honest assessment of the current political moment — the underlying dynamic that explains what is otherwise confusing or fragmented.


Story cards (Pass 3 output)

Below the brief sections, each multi-source story cluster has a card showing:

Field Source Description
Headline Pass 3 The LLM's own neutral description of what actually happened
Consensus facts Pass 3 Facts reported consistently across ALL political orientations
Contested points Pass 3 Claims made by one side but not corroborated by others
Left framing Pass 3 How left-leaning outlets are framing the story
Right framing Pass 3 How right-leaning outlets are framing the story
Center framing Pass 3 How center outlets are framing the story
Left omissions Pass 3 What left outlets are NOT saying that appears in right coverage
Right omissions Pass 3 What right outlets are NOT saying that appears in left coverage
Assessment Pass 3 2–3 sentence analyst assessment cutting through the spin
Significance Pass 3 high / medium / low
Source list Collector Links to each article with source name and bias tag

Connections panel (Pass 4 output)

Shows the hidden_connections array from Pass 4. Each connection identifies two or more entities and describes the non-obvious relationship between them across stories.


Patterns panel (Pass 4 output)

Shows the narrative_patterns array — themes or coordinated patterns that cut across multiple stories (e.g. "three separate stories all pivot to immigration despite originating in different topics").


Anomalies panel (Pass 4 output)

Shows the anomalies array — things that seem unusually timed, out of character, or conspicuously absent given the current news environment.


Blindspot analysis (Pass 4 output)

Two sub-panels:

  • Left-only coverage — stories where only left-leaning sources are reporting
  • Right-only coverage — stories where only right-leaning sources are reporting

Plus the blindspot_analysis text: a 2–3 sentence assessment of what each side is systematically avoiding today.


Watch list panel (Pass 4 output)

Lists recommended_watch items with the delta_from_previous note showing what has changed since the last run.


Source index

A collapsible index of all articles collected this run, organized by source. Each entry shows the article title (linked), source name, and bias label.


Navigation

Each report includes a ◁ Home button in the header that links back to ../index.html (the landing page). This uses a relative path so it works both locally and on GitHub Pages.


Report file format

Reports are named brief_YYYYMMDD_HHMM.html where the timestamp is UTC at report generation time. All CSS, HTML structure, and content are inline in a single file — no external dependencies, no JavaScript frameworks. Reports can be saved locally, emailed, or viewed offline.

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