Multi-Author Publication

A Byline implementation for a news organization with multiple contributors, different roles, and mixed content perspectives.

What This Demonstrates

• Organization element defining the publication
• Multiple contributors with different contexts
• Role distinctions (staff vs founder)
• Mixed perspectives (reporting vs personal opinion)
• Publication-level theming

Perspective matters

Notice how the first article uses reporting perspective while the opinion piece uses personal. This distinction helps readers understand they should read these pieces differently.

Full Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:byline="https://bylinespec.org/1.0">
  <channel>
    <title>The Tech Review</title>
    <link>https://thetechreview.example.com</link>
    <description>Technology news and analysis</description>

    <byline:organizations>
      <byline:org id="ttr">
        <byline:name>The Tech Review</byline:name>
        <byline:url>https://thetechreview.example.com</byline:url>
        <byline:type>news</byline:type>
        <byline:theme color="#1A1A2E" accent="#E94560" style="dark"/>
      </byline:org>
    </byline:organizations>

    <byline:contributors>
      <byline:person id="marcus">
        <byline:name>Marcus Chen</byline:name>
        <byline:context>Senior reporter covering Apple and consumer hardware since 2015. Based in SF.</byline:context>
        <byline:url>https://thetechreview.example.com/authors/marcus</byline:url>
        <byline:profile href="https://mastodon.social/@marcuschen" rel="mastodon"/>
      </byline:person>

      <byline:person id="elena">
        <byline:name>Elena Vance</byline:name>
        <byline:context>Editor-in-chief. Former WSJ tech editor. Opinions in clearly marked columns are my own.</byline:context>
        <byline:url>https://thetechreview.example.com/authors/elena</byline:url>
        <byline:now>https://elenavance.com/now</byline:now>
      </byline:person>
    </byline:contributors>

    <item>
      <title>Apple announces M5 chip lineup at WWDC</title>
      <link>https://thetechreview.example.com/apple-m5-wwdc</link>
      <guid>https://thetechreview.example.com/apple-m5-wwdc</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2026 09:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description>Apple revealed its next-generation silicon at today's keynote...</description>

      <byline:author ref="marcus"/>
      <byline:role>staff</byline:role>
      <byline:perspective>reporting</byline:perspective>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Opinion: The App Store needs fundamental reform</title>
      <link>https://thetechreview.example.com/app-store-opinion</link>
      <guid>https://thetechreview.example.com/app-store-opinion</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description>After fifteen years, it's time to rethink everything...</description>

      <byline:author ref="elena"/>
      <byline:role>founder</byline:role>
      <byline:perspective>personal</byline:perspective>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Key Elements

Organization

The org element defines the publication itself, including its type (news) and visual theming. This is separate from individual contributors.

Multiple Contributors

Each contributor has their own context that describes their beat, background, and what readers should expect from them.

Roles

The role element indicates the author's relationship to the publication. Marcus is staff while Elena is founder.