Fix NewsItem ordering to prioritize pinned items and sequence

src/comms/migrations/0011_fix_news_item_ordering.py

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Generated by Django 4.2.20 on 2026-03-31 19:54
+
+from django.db import migrations
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+    dependencies = [
+        ("comms", "0010_historicalnewsitem_body_cy_and_more"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterModelOptions(
+            name="newsitem",
+            options={"ordering": ("-pinned", "sequence", "-start_display", "title")},
+        ),
+    ]

src/comms/models.py

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ class NewsItem(models.Model):
     active_objects = ActiveNewsItemManager()
 
     class Meta:
-        ordering = ("pinned", "-posted", "title")
+        ordering = ("-pinned", "sequence", "-start_display", "title")
 
     @property
     def url(self):

src/comms/tests.py

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-from django.test import TestCase
+import datetime
+
+from django.test import TestCase, override_settings
 from django.urls import reverse
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
 from django.utils import timezone
@@ -116,3 +118,106 @@ def test_manage_news_delete_image(self):
             core_models.File.objects.filter(pk=image_file.pk).exists(),
             msg="File was not deleted as expected.",
         )
+
+
+class NewsItemOrderingTest(TestCase):
+    @classmethod
+    def setUpTestData(cls):
+        cls.press = helpers.create_press()
+        cls.journal_one, cls.journal_two = helpers.create_journals()
+        cls.content_type = ContentType.objects.get_for_model(cls.journal_one)
+
+        today = datetime.date.today()
+        yesterday = today - datetime.timedelta(days=1)
+        last_week = today - datetime.timedelta(days=7)
+
+        cls.item_pinned = models.NewsItem.objects.create(
+            content_type=cls.content_type,
+            object_id=cls.journal_one.pk,
+            title="Pinned Item",
+            body="body",
+            start_display=yesterday,
+            pinned=True,
+        )
+        cls.item_seq_1 = models.NewsItem.objects.create(
+            content_type=cls.content_type,
+            object_id=cls.journal_one.pk,
+            title="Sequence 1",
+            body="body",
+            start_display=today,
+            sequence=1,
+        )
+        cls.item_seq_2 = models.NewsItem.objects.create(
+            content_type=cls.content_type,
+            object_id=cls.journal_one.pk,
+            title="Sequence 2",
+            body="body",
+            start_display=last_week,
+            sequence=2,
+        )
+        # Two items sharing the same sequence and start_display — title breaks the tie.
+        cls.item_title_apple = models.NewsItem.objects.create(
+            content_type=cls.content_type,
+            object_id=cls.journal_one.pk,
+            title="Apple",
+            body="body",
+            start_display=last_week,
+            sequence=3,
+        )
+        cls.item_title_zebra = models.NewsItem.objects.create(
+            content_type=cls.content_type,
+            object_id=cls.journal_one.pk,
+            title="Zebra",
+            body="body",
+            start_display=last_week,
+            sequence=3,
+        )
+        cls.url = reverse("core_news_list")
+
+    @override_settings(URL_CONFIG="domain")
+    def test_pinned_item_appears_first(self):
+        response = self.client.get(self.url, SERVER_NAME=self.journal_one.domain)
+        items = list(response.context["news_items"])
+        self.assertEqual(items[0], self.item_pinned)
+
+    @override_settings(URL_CONFIG="domain")
+    def test_sequence_respected_after_pinned(self):
+        response = self.client.get(self.url, SERVER_NAME=self.journal_one.domain)
+        items = list(response.context["news_items"])
+        self.assertEqual(items[1], self.item_seq_1)
+        self.assertEqual(items[2], self.item_seq_2)
+
+    @override_settings(URL_CONFIG="domain")
+    def test_ordering_uses_start_display_not_posted(self):
+        # item_seq_2 has an older start_display but was created after item_seq_1.
+        # Sequence drives order so seq_1 (sequence=1) precedes seq_2 (sequence=2),
+        # confirming posted timestamp is not used.
+        response = self.client.get(self.url, SERVER_NAME=self.journal_one.domain)
+        items = [i for i in response.context["news_items"] if not i.pinned]
+        self.assertEqual(items[0], self.item_seq_1)
+        self.assertEqual(items[1], self.item_seq_2)
+
+    @override_settings(URL_CONFIG="domain")
+    def test_same_sequence_and_start_display_orders_by_title(self):
+        # item_title_apple and item_title_zebra share sequence=3 and start_display,
+        # so title alphabetical order is the tiebreaker.
+        response = self.client.get(self.url, SERVER_NAME=self.journal_one.domain)
+        items = [i for i in response.context["news_items"] if i.sequence == 3]
+        self.assertEqual(items[0], self.item_title_apple)
+        self.assertEqual(items[1], self.item_title_zebra)
+
+    @override_settings(URL_CONFIG="domain")
+    def test_higher_sequence_with_newer_start_display_sorts_after_lower_sequence(self):
+        # item_seq_1 (sequence=1, start_display=today) must appear before
+        # item_seq_2 (sequence=2, start_display=last_week) even though a naive
+        # date-first sort would put last_week after today.
+        response = self.client.get(self.url, SERVER_NAME=self.journal_one.domain)
+        items = [
+            i
+            for i in response.context["news_items"]
+            if not i.pinned and i.sequence in (1, 2)
+        ]
+        self.assertLess(
+            items.index(self.item_seq_1),
+            items.index(self.item_seq_2),
+        )