Guide

External Channels architecture

Maintainer overview of the Apple News legacy path and removed Alexa briefings.

Bootstrap

includes/class-plugin.php loads only the Apple News integration. init_dependencies() runs once from the constructor — do not also call it from load_dependencies() (duplicate registration previously corrupted export output).

PHP-only plugin; no npm build step for runtime behavior.

Apple News

PRC\Platform\External_Channels\Apple_News wires Pew behavior into the Alley Apple News exporter:

HookBehavior
apple_news_exporter_bylineFormats bylines via prc-staff-bylines and appends publication date (By {authors} | {date})
apple_news_skip_pushSkips push when the post is not publish or the environment is not production

Custom export components live under includes/apple-news/alley-integration/ (callout, big number, collapsible). Theme JSON: includes/apple-news/apple_news_theme.json.

Removed: Alexa flash briefings

The audio-flash-briefings submodule (CPT, Alexa skill REST feeds, Polly preview, VIP keys) was removed in 2026-07 in favor of Spoken Article. Do not reintroduce Alexa-specific env vars or panels here.

Planned replacement

prc-apple-news is the planned first-party replacement. This package stays quiet until cutover.

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