PROJECT REPORT / Live2026

New Zork Times

A newspaper from somewhere that does not quite exist.

Illustrated newspaper artwork from New Zork Times
02 / A fictional publication, presented like a real one2026

THE STORY BEHIND THE BUILD

A JSON-driven newspaper project that turns separately authored articles and issues into a browsable publication.

01 / CASE NOTE

The premise

Build a fictional newspaper that feels like a publication, rather than a collection of joke posts. The publication is its own little world inside the site.

02 / CASE NOTE

Content first

Articles and issues are stored separately as JSON. That keeps the writing portable and lets EJS control the presentation without forcing a PDF-based workflow.

03 / CASE NOTE

The design problem

A newspaper has to balance hierarchy and density. Headlines, sections, issue context, and individual articles need to feel connected while remaining easy to navigate on the web.

04 / CASE NOTE

Where it can go

More issues, more recurring sections, and increasingly elaborate fictional reportage — without changing the underlying idea of structured content feeding reusable templates.