Scoring Content Sources

Some articles hit the mark. Others just take up space. Scoring is how you tell Ongage Studio which content signals to trust — and which to quietly move aside.

Whether you're building a Datastream for deep-dive finance insights or faith-driven parenting advice, source scoring is your tuning fork. It helps you boost credibility, filter fluff, and shape your Agent’s research before a single word gets written.


Why Source Scoring Matters

Datastreams don’t just scan — they judge. But not all sources deserve the same weight. Your scoring tells Studio:

  • Which publishers are worth elevating
  • Which ones should be downplayed or deprioritized
  • Which to block completely (because life’s too short for clickbait)

By tuning your Source Scores, you control the quality and tone of everything your Agents create.


How Scoring Works

Scoring happens inside the Datastream metadata filters. You’ll find four levels of control:

FilterWhat It Does
Included SourcesOnly these sources are allowed — all others are ignored
Boosted SourcesThese get a numerical score boost (0–1000) — higher means stronger visibility
Penalized SourcesThese still appear, but with lower ranking (–1 to –1000)
Excluded SourcesThese are fully blocked — they’ll never appear in results

 

The more refined your filters, the more refined your output.


Example Use Cases

GoalScoring Strategy
Prioritize expert journalismBoost: Reuters (900), WSJ (850), NYT (800)
Downplay low-quality aggregatorsPenalize: Patch (–700), Medium (–500), BuzzFeed (–800)
Block politically biased coverageExclude: Breitbart, HuffPost, The Nation
Highlight niche expertiseInclude: Stateline, Pew Research, Local trade journals
Avoid commercial contentExclude: Sponsored blogs, affiliate sites, advertorials

 


Scoring in Action

Let’s say you’re building a Health & Wellness Datastream:

  • Boost: Healthline (800), Cleveland Clinic (900), Harvard Health (850)
  • Penalize: Medium blogs (–600), sponsored content networks (–700)
  • Exclude: Goop, TikTok health creators, Daily Mail

Now, every Agent pulling from that Datastream will “see” the world through this lens. The content they generate will reflect it — more medical clarity, less pseudoscience.


Tips for Smart Scoring

  • Don’t just exclude everything you don’t like — penalizing lets good content through, but with caution.
  • Boost conservatively — a score of 1000 means “always show,” so reserve that for top-tier sources.
  • Combine source and item logic — e.g., “Boost Climate Policy only from Reuters and Pew.”
  • Preview after changes — always click “Preview Articles” to see the effect of your scoring in real time.

Pro Tips

  • Exclude liberally for known low-trust or ad-heavy domains.
  • Use boosts to steer niche tone (e.g., scholarly, mainstream, faith-based).
  • Penalize “maybe” sources instead of blocking — Studio will learn what sticks.
  • Save a template if you use the same scores across multiple Datastreams.