Another approach is that users often want the newest items listed first, but occasionally want exceptions. Thus, have a "sort date" with a time portion that gov

Another approach is that users often want the newest items listed first, but occasionally want exceptions. Thus, have a "sort date" with a time portion that governs the order. The sort-date defaults to the data entry (add) date/time. The display date and sort-date may differ, if present. A sort-date doesn't work for everything, but is simple, intuitive, and effective for news- or blog-like content.