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Joseph Gonzalez
‘28
In the wake of Donald Trump's surprising 2016 win that would begin his first term as U.S. President, there was a moment of introspection among the “legacy media” – a brief consensus that they may be out of touch with “middle” – or as some would say “forgotten” – America. On November 13, 2016, New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Executive Editor Dean Baquet published a “To Our Readers” in which they promised, “As we reflect on the momentous result, and the months of reporting and polling that preceded it, we aim to rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism. That is to report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor, striving always to understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences in the stories that we bring to you.” I leave it to the reader to decide whether or not they upheld this promise.
The media landscape has changed since 2016; it is far more accessible and deserves greater scrutiny. Despite the current threats posed by “cheap fakes” and AI’s “deepfakes” to our ability to perceive what’s true, the trusted names in news have lost trust and are bleeding subscribers. On February 4th, 2026, The Washington Post announced it is laying off one-third of its work force, sharply scaling back the paper's coverage of sports and foreign news. While they downsize, the new age of disruptors thrives, capturing a new generation of disenfranchised media consumers looking for places to learn about the world.
RocaNews is one of those new platforms growing by the seemingly simple acts of building trust and conducting on-the-ground reporting in the places the New York Times promised to do. They believe their readers are smart enough to form their own opinions. At least that was being claimed on February 19th in McCosh Hall at an event entitled RocaNews, Non-Partisan Reporting, and the Fight against Legacy Media organized by the Princeton Open Campus Coalition (POCC). RocaNews currently has 2 million instagram followers, 651,000 YouTube subscribers, and a daily newsletter sent to over 200,000 subscribers. If that growth is not enough to convince you that they are doing something right, you can see for yourself through a myriad of ways, all focused on ease of access and user experience. Roca uses Instagram and newsletters to build a go-to news community based on factual, on-the-ground reporting.
The event featured the CEOs of RocaNews, Max Towey and Billy Carney. At 29 and 30 respectively, they are recognised as leaders of one of the world's fastest growing media companies. These 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Honorees came across as affable and personable, sitting casually dressed on a stage in front of a group of students. The only talk they did ‘at’ the crowd was while recounting RocaNews’ founding in August 2020, during the first year of the pandemic. Although they had carved out a standard Q&A time for their last 30 minutes, they engaged in conversation with the audience the whole time, asking questions to the crowd and responding to reactions. Their questions included “what is the free speech climate on campus like?” and “what platforms do you consume news on?” The latter opened up a flood of sources, people, and platforms I had never even heard of. What was not discussed was the origin of the name “Roca,” which is short for “Pororoca,” a biannual wave that sweeps the Amazon River. Surfers come from across the world to surf the Pororoca; it’s a wave that brings people together.
The reference aligns with their pitch: most news is “negative, partisan, and alarmist,” designed mostly as clickbait. One example they cited was the New York Times “11 Supposedly Fun Things We’ll Never Do the Same Way Again.” Written during the pandemic, it maintained that things like “blowing out the candles on your cake, shopping aimlessly, and shaking hands, hugging a friend, and kissing a cheek would never be the same.” As Max Towey exclaimed, “when you read stuff like that, you get a feeling that they don’t even like people.”
“Disruptors” does not accurately describe them; they are a breath of fresh air. I will admit that I had no knowledge of RocaNews prior to this event. I continue to follow the sources that I have always followed, but more options are not a bad thing.
Is there any media or point of view that is not biased in some way? What makes this crisis in legacy media a threat to its own existence is the claim to be fair and balanced while being clearly partisan to either the right or left. RocaNews displays a welcome change to that. If you are fed up with the divisiveness or the polarization of the current climate, then (like Roca’s namesake) take a dive into RocaNews and see for yourself if calming waves wash over you.
Joseph Gonzalez '28 is an Army and Marine Corps combat veteran and transfer student from Brentwood, NY, majoring in History. He is a PFS Writing Fellow.
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In a few minutes, all of you will walk out of this stadium as newly minted graduates of this University. Before you do, however, long-standing tradition permits the University president to offer a few remarks about the path that lies ahead.
In having a truly diverse group of students share their perspectives, Princeton makes known that there exists a home for every viewpoint. However, as much as I believe this claim to be true, there are unfortunately those who do not. It is easy to dismiss the Princeton administration and culture as entirely polarizing and ideologically biased. In fact, it is true that many here hold the same dominant perspective . But to focus on this fact alone, to rest our entire judgement on one such observation, runs the dangerous risk of neglecting the clear and persistent efforts of this University to encourage every student—even the conservative ones—to share the beliefs that he or she so earnestly pursues.
On April 15, I had the pleasure of hosting, on behalf of the Cliosophic Society, Ambassador John Bolton at Princeton’s Nassau Inn for a discussion entitled “The Room Where It Happened: National Security Decisions Under Pressure.” Bolton’s legacy as a leading professional in American foreign policy offered more than a glimpse behind the diplomatic curtain; it invited a critical examination of the processes and personalities that have shaped recent American engagement with the world.
