If we put news items in a database keyed by issue number (and I think it reasonable that all news-worthy patches should have a tracker issue), then there would be no conflicts. (We already avoid simultaneous commits to the same issue.) If the database had fields such as the type of issue/patch and the component affected, then different queries could create text files sorted differently.

We already have such a database with such fields and indexed by issue number -- the tracker itself. We could either copy data from the tracker into a separate database or add to the tracker a textbox News field that is only editable by either by the 'Assigned to' person or perhaps any committer.

I personally would prefer a box that I could fill out when closing the issue. (The tracker could even ask for verification when closing a 'fixed' issue with a blank news.) News summaries could be extracted at any time by scanning commit messages since the last release for issue numbers. A news box on the tracker would give people looking at the issue thereafter a quick summary of the result of the issue without scanning through all the messages and checking the patches. 

Since the issue formatting is being reviewed, I think the issue summary should also include the exact releases patched. This would help people to see if an issue is only open for a possible backport, It might also help a program selecting issues for a news report.

I am, of course, aware that I have glossed over many details.