Grok Media LLC and GraniteGrok.com have completed the site design evolution from a state-level hobby blog to one built for a much wider audience while maintaining a solid grasp on its New Hampshire roots. Future growth demanded it, and the response has been very positive. However, to continue improving and growing, we need donors and sponsors who support free speech and independent voices in media.
We need to raise a bunch of money to keep this on the rails, but why would you help us? There are plenty of reasons, but here are five of them.
1. Faster/Better
The site is cleaner, faster, and designed to allow anyone from anywhere to find the content they want to read without scrolling through content they don’t. This elevates our growth opportunities globally, Nationally, and across New England.
Local audiences can directly access New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine-specific content from the home page or the header drop-downs. To help them better “Grok” Vermont and Maine, we need resources to increase exposure and find local writers, but the early foundations are laid with other Northeastern states represented on our New England Page. New Hampshire readers can drill down further to more local content on pages across seven specific towns or regions.
All of the content in each of these silos is focused on a specific state or location, with navigation that allows readers to move between parts of the site quickly from wherever they happen to be.
Readers can find what interests them more efficiently or follow authors they like with a click.
2. Growth/Reach
Despite the initial revenue loss, GraniteGrok now has fewer ads in fewer places. We intend to grow that revenue by increasing traffic, not more ads, to keep the experience as clean and user-friendly as possible (the ad-free VIP versions and a mobile app are still on the table).
And we are already (re)growing our audience. After some setbacks, such as being shadow-banned or openly banned on social media, GraniteGrok.com is back to roughly 1 to 1.5 million page views annually. Part of that growth model requires resources to market the site to improve domain and page authority. The budget for this is a relatively small investment, but we need to raise the funds to help us increase our reach. Please help us reach more readers to spread the good news about smaller government, lower taxes, and individual liberty.
The goal is to return to 2.5 million page views next year or more, and given recent growth, that number might be low.
3. Truly Independent Media
The economy has made raising enough from small donors almost impossible. We are at 21% of our funding goal for next year, with only a few months left to go while operating on 60% of what we need for 2024. It is critical that we find sponsors and advocates interested in writing checks to support truly independent media, of which Grok is one of few.
No party or person in politics, the public, or the media is beyond the scrutiny of our authors on these pages.
GraniteGrok will give citizens a voice by publishing op-eds that other media refuse and by accepting and publishing rebuttals to any piece we publish.
We are willing to challenge the party in power, no matter which party it is, question the narratives, and press local and national media to cover topics their editors are afraid to investigate. The new politics blurs party lines, and while we will always be pro-liberty, for health freedom, low taxes, fewer regulations, and smaller government, allies willing to combat tyranny will not be shut out.
We do not tell our authors what to write or who they can or can’t endorse.
Donors, while necessary and appreciated, cannot buy editorial influence.
Commenters are free to discuss and debate from every political corner of any issue as long as they are not vulgar or threatening.
The SPLC has labeled GraniteGrok as anti-government (we are for the limited government). We’re proud of that.
Fed-funded partisan media machine favorite NewsGuard gave us a 37.5% rating, which puts us in excellent company if free speech is more important to you than the politics of message control. And FYI – I learned yesterday that NewsGaurd is targeting us again. I’m flattered that they feel the need.
4. We’ve Been Here for Over 18 Years
Not only has GraniteGrok been putting public officials’ feet to the fire since 2006, but our filter hasn’t changed over those eighteen and one-half years. “We want to conserve the limitations placed on government by the Constitution.” An ordered society with the least amount of government necessary that allows people to live, work, and build relationships free from interference.
The ‘Grok has defended individual rights, liberty, parents, kids, life, free markets, and free speech no matter how uncomfortable the message or messenger is, and that isn’t going to change.
5. The Truth Matters No Matter How Inconvenient
The Grok has been instrumental in supporting election integrity and exposing voter fraud long before it became the hot topic it is today. We are on the front lines in the culture war, including protecting women and girls’ sports. GraniteGrok supports Second Amendment groups and promotes and reports on their events when other media can’t be bothered. We have challenged candidates on both sides, exposing weaknesses and even fraud.
We don’t always get it right, but we don’t shy away from the how or why and publish that.
The truth matters. Evil exists. And tyranny never rests, so neither shall we.
And the economy sucks, but we need your support to keep the lights on, and as uncomfortable as it is to ask, we need donors, donations, and sponsors. We need subscribers who can part with $ $5 a month or $ $500 a month. We need sponsors who can write a five or ten-thousand-dollar check every year.
We can do much more, but we can’t do it without you.
We have a donation portal, but you can write a check to Grok Media LLC if you don’t like giving a percentage of that donation to a payment processor—email steve@granitegrok.com for a mailing address or to discuss how else you might be able to help.
GraniteGrok is your media outlet, your voice, and we can keep it that way with your support.
