Show HN: A calm, finite daily news briefing (no infinite scroll, no ads)

3 points by ericgtaylor 6 hours ago

I built this because my dad was losing sleep from high-anxiety news cycles.

I wanted a calmer alternative that didn’t manipulate attention.

Steady News publishes a single finite edition every day at 6 AM PT.

No infinite scroll, no engagement traps, no editorial spin.

How it works: • Fetches top US stories from AP, Reuters, BBC, NPR, WSJ • Summaries run through GPT-4.1-mini to remove sensational language • Produces calm, neutral "Steady Voice" summaries • React/Vite frontend, Node/Express backend, PostgreSQL (Neon) • Hardened image proxy (SSRF-safe, strict allowlist) • Slug immutability + 301 alias system for SEO continuity • Hourly incremental updates for new articles • Optional audio via OpenAI TTS • Privacy: anonymous Plausible analytics + optional Meta Pixel for paid acquisition testing (no ads, no personalization)

Footprint: • No tracking-dependent UX • No personalization • No ads • No infinite scroll • No algorithmic feed

Would love feedback on the philosophy, the UX, or the architecture.