Partyline: Reader-Submitted Stories for Local News and Magazines
Local news is the original social media. Let your community share and tell its side of the story with Partyline.
Use with caution
Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 40+ sites and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 58/100 on our health check.
- Momentum — downloads up 75.5% vs the previous 30 days
- Small user base (40+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Partyline: Reader-Submitted… stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| AI | >100 |
| community | >100 |
| local news | #57 |
| sms | >100 |
| user generated content | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Partyline: Reader-Submitted Stories for…
From the official readme · v1.5.1Description
New here? Watch the explainer and how-to: https://youtu.be/f4vUM_DGjPM — a quick walkthrough from Kenny Katzgrau, publisher of redbankgreen and creator of Partyline.
Partyline is a free, open source WordPress plugin that lets anyone in your community send in a story, a tip, a moment, or just a cute dog photo. They can submit right from an installable app on their phone, or by text message via Twilio. Partyline optionally gives submissions a quick AI polish using OpenAI, and creates a draft post in your WordPress dashboard for you to review.
It’s the fastest way to turn real, spontaneous contributions into published content. Whether it’s breaking news or just something unexpected and delightful, Partyline brings your readers into the newsroom.
Made for local publishers who are short on time but big on community. Partyline is free and open source, released under the GPL.
Top 10 Uses for Partyline
A lovingly curated list from experience, originally shared with LINA Publishers in Australia
- Cover stories you’d never get to otherwise, like proms, graduations, and scout ceremonies.
- Post ridiculous stuff that wouldn’t fly as a “real” article, and watch the traffic surprise you.
- File an initial post when a breaking story hits, straight from the street.
- Capture the in-the-moment energy of a parade, protest, or town meeting.
- Share sunsets and puppy pics, without feeling like a complete sellout.
- Keep your advertisers happy by actually posting their community event (and looking cool doing it).
- Turn your readers into local mini-celebrities, and spark conversations offline.
- Give voice to people who never get quoted. Partyline lowers the barrier to entry.
- Redirect PR people to a more productive outlet than your inbox.
- Reclaim your newsroom’s social media power, because you were doing it before Facebook anyway.
External services
This plugin connects to the following third-party services. None of them are contacted until you configure the corresponding credentials on the Partyline settings page.
Twilio
Used to receive SMS submissions from your community and to download any media (photos) attached to those messages.
- What is sent: when Twilio POSTs an inbound SMS to your site’s webhook URL, the plugin reads the message body, sender phone number, recipient phone number, and any attached media URLs. To fetch authenticated media files, the plugin makes outbound HTTPS requests to
api.twilio.com(and to the redirected media CDN URLs Twilio returns) using your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token. - When it is sent: only when an SMS is received at the configured webhook URL and the message includes media attachments.
- Service: Twilio, Inc. Terms of Service: https://www.twilio.com/legal/tos . Privacy Policy: https://www.twilio.com/legal/privacy .
OpenAI (ChatGPT)
Optional. Used to clean up spelling/grammar of submitted messages, generate post titles, and (in the app) transcribe voice dictation and draft a title and blurb.
- What is sent: the text of a submission (from SMS or the app), plus a short instruction prompt, are sent to
https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions. In the app, voice recordings are sent tohttps://api.openai.com/v1/audio/transcriptions(Whisper) to transcribe them, and the submitted photo may be included so the model can draft a fitting title and blurb. All requests use the OpenAI API key you configure. - When it is sent: only if you have entered an OpenAI API key in the Partyline settings, and only at the moment a submission is being processed into a draft post.
- Service: OpenAI, L.L.C. Terms of Use: https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use . Privacy Policy: https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy .
Cloudflare Turnstile
Optional. Used to verify that anonymous submissions and public applications come from a real person rather than a bot.
- What is sent: when you configure a Turnstile site key, the public submission and application forms load Cloudflare’s widget script from
https://challenges.cloudflare.com, and the visitor’s browser obtains a token. On submission, that token is sent to your server and verified againsthttps://challenges.cloudflare.com/turnstile/v0/siteverifyusing your Turnstile secret key. - When it is sent: only if you have entered a Turnstile site key in the settings, and only on the public submission or application forms. Without a key, a built-in math challenge is used instead and no third party is contacted.
- Service: Cloudflare, Inc. Terms: https://www.cloudflare.com/website-terms/ . Privacy Policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/ .
Installation
- Upload the
partylinedirectory to your/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Go to the Partyline settings page. The contributor app is enabled by default at
your-site.com/partyline; share that link with your community. - (Optional) To also accept submissions by text message, enable Twilio in the settings, add your credentials, and point your Twilio number’s messaging webhook at the URL shown there.
- (Optional) Add an OpenAI API key to enable AI cleanup and voice dictation.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to use Partyline?
Nothing. The contributor app is enabled by default, so your community can start submitting right away. Twilio and ChatGPT are optional add-ons, not requirements: Twilio (Optional): a Twilio account and an SMS-capable phone number, to also accept submissions by text. ChatGPT / OpenAI (Optional): an OpenAI API key, to auto-correct grammar and spelling and power voice dictation in the app.
How do I manage Partyliners?
A Partyliner is a WordPress user with a phone number, which is how a text message is matched back to their account. To manage them, go to Partyline > Partyliners in your admin menu. There you can see everyone at a glance and add a Partyliner directly (name, phone, email). You can also turn on public applications in the settings so readers can apply. Either way, a Partyliner’s phone number is stored in the format +15555555555 (you can still set it on the standard WordPress user profile too).
Changelog
1.5.1
- Docs: the How-To guide now notes you can also use an ordinary Posts widget or block restricted to your Partyline category, alongside the dedicated Partyline Posts widget.
1.5.0
- NEW: “Partyline Posts” widget and a [partyline_posts] shortcode to display your most recent Partylines anywhere — a sidebar, footer, or inside a page. It’s pre-scoped to your Partyline category, with options for the count, featured image, and date.
1.4.1
- FIX: More robust multi-photo submissions. Photos are validated by their actual contents (not just the browser-reported type), and one unreadable photo no longer blocks the whole submission.
- FIX: Published-story emails and app chrome now use your site’s own name instead of a hard-coded publisher name.
- ENHANCEMENT: The How-To guide now links to your Partyline category archive (where published Partylines appear) and suggests adding a category-restricted Posts widget to your home page.
1.4.0
- NEW: Optional video uploads. Contributors can attach a short video that is optimized on your server in the background, so submitting is never held up. Requires FFmpeg on the server; off by default (enable it in the Contributor App settings). Includes an option to limit video to editors and administrators.
- NEW: The video’s first frame becomes the post’s preview image, with a play badge baked in so the post reads as video in listings and social shares.
- NEW: An explainer and how-to video at the top of the How-To page and on the plugin listing.
- FIX: “Add to Home Screen” now points at your Site Icon from every entry point, including the logged-out landing page, so iOS uses the correct app icon.
1.3.2
- Refreshed the plugin banner artwork and noted in the description that Partyline is free and open source
1.3.1
- ENHANCEMENT: When public applications are open, logged-out visitors get an “Apply to Partyline” home screen (with a log-in link for existing Partyliners) instead of an immediate login redirect
- ENHANCEMENT: Refreshed the plugin banner
For developers
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FAQ
Partyline: Reader-Submitted Stories…: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 5, 2026
Is Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… free?
Yes. Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… safe to use in 2026?
Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 40+ sites and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 58/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto…?
Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… is active on 40+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,256 times since it launched in July 2026. It was downloaded 565 times in the last 30 days.
Does Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… work with WordPress 7.1?
Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.6, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… last updated?
The latest version, 1.5.1, was released on July 31, 2026 (2 months ago).
Who makes Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto…?
Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… is developed and maintained by Broadstreet.
What are the best alternatives to Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto…?
The most popular alternatives to Partyline: Reader-Submitted Sto… are Elementor Website Builder (10M+ installs), All in One SEO (2M+ installs) and AI Agent by SiteGround (1M+ installs).
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