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Four years ago this month, Roca grew for the first time. We say “grew” because we had been in business for five months at that point and had nothing to show for it: All of our readers were people we personally knew. There was no indication that people actually wanted what we were offering – straightforward, unbiased news about the world.

Yet we were confident: The news was just too bad, too biased, too misleading. So we kept writing.

Then in mid-January, we posted an article to Instagram about the GameStop stock situation. The story – a straight-forward summary of the situation unique only in the fact that it didn’t parrot hedge fund talking points – was widely shared and liked thousands of times. That moment marked the first time our content grew our audience and paved the way for rapid growth to follow. By the spring, we would often gain more followers in an hour than we had total at the start of the year.

As we start and plan for a new year, we’ve been reflecting on that experience and what we’ve learned since. Our main takeaway and our guiding principle for the year ahead is this: Ask questions.

This is once what journalists did: Asked questions about trends, ideas, wars, politicians, businesses, special interests, corruption – you name it.

Yet in recent years, most have stopped doing that, opting to reinforce political narratives instead. And when people do ask questions, journalists write articles that use labels to discredit them (science-denier, anti-vaxxer, racist, etc., etc.).

Of course, there are people who spread misinformation, deny reality and facts, and sow mistrust for their personal benefit. But there are also many curious people who are asking questions because they aren’t satisfied with the answers they’ve been provided.

That used to be the calling card of a journalist: They asked questions because they didn’t trust the answers they were provided. But today, journalists routinely smear those who “do their own research” as conspiracy theorists.

“Just shut up and trust my news!”

So in the year ahead, our commitment is to double down on asking questions. Regardless of if they affirm or counter the opinions held by us or our audience, we will pursue the truth through our on-the-ground reporting, deep-dive investigations, and interviews.

The Truth About Appalachia

“What is the smallest thing in the world that makes the biggest difference?”

Don – out of breath, blood on his shirt – waited for us to reply.

Editor’s Note

And there is our first report of 2025. We’re curious to hear your thoughts on Don and what stories you'd like us to cover in the year ahead. Thank you for reading and we hope you had wonderful holidays.

–Max and Max

RocaNews co-founders