Two and a half years ago, I realized something. GraniteGrok.com more or less owned the internet space on the right in New Hampshire, or should. With a bit of effort and some donations from readers to retool the footprint, we did that. We claimed the space as ours.
Related: Union Leader is breathless in announcing it is no longer a conservative paper
What started as a mission to surpass the Keene Sentinel in web traffic took us all the way to the top in the Granite State. We passed everyone in digital print media, even the state’s largest newspaper, the Union leader.
We surpassed every newspaper in online page views, NHPR’s site, leaving only online formats in which we were not truly competing, radio (like WGIR), and TV (WMUR).
And who are we? A couple of working stiffs funding this out-of-pocket or with a few bucks from ads and donations from readers.
Our writers all have day jobs or commitments that are not about blogging.
Amature hobbyists owned the online political space.
Even after Facebook started throttling us back in February, we still held on to number two and continue to rise to number one every few months. We’ve even surpassed most internet news sites in VT and ME and the Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Our only real online competition in New Hampshire continues to be the Union Leader, but that problem may have solved itself.
From running cover for Democrat Chris Pappas to endorsing RINO’s or Democrats for President, they have become little different from any other newspaper in the state at a time when people, more than ever, are looking for something different.
I think their endorsement of Joe Biden is telling. Sure, they noted that they’d prefer a Republican Congress, but there’s no guarantee of that. And China Joe Biden won’t even be in charge. Kommie Kamala will quickly be the commandant in chief. Not that it matters. Both will hamstring the economy, destroy jobs, drive manufacturing away, make energy a lot more expensive, whip the public health-mule to advance more tyranny, and kneel before China (Iran, and yes, Russia).
You do know that by endorsing China Joe you are saying that you want all those corruption scandals to disappear. And that the Marxist Harris as President is good too. She’s further left than Bernie. That’s worse than Trump? Really?
Done. Over. What was once the most conservative daily in the country – a unique perspective in American newspapers that died with the Loeb’s – is increasingly like every other paper. And I guess we have to thank them. They just up and walked off the field.
They leave behind a void for others to fill and not just the Grok. Michael Graham and NH Journal have stepped up their content, and Liberty Block NH has advanced past several print-media sites in the state, doing the job we always expected Free Keene would do, though they still provide a perspective no one else will, and this is good.
And with the Union Leader tossing in the towel to embrace left-wing middling vanilla, people will continue to do what they’ve been doing. Leaving old media for new.
We’re happy to have them.
