Last month, we asked you all to submit “ask-me-anything” questions to our team

Today, we’re answering them

KmossyMoss asks: Are all of y’all originally friends, or did some of the team reach out and apply to join the team?

The team responds: We are 10 people, 3 of whom are founders (Max Towey, Max Frost, and Billy Carney). Max T and Billy were college roommates; Max T and Max F worked together until 2020, when Towey introduced Frost to Billy and our founding team was born

Of the remaining 7, 4 were the founders’ friends; 3 were not and either reached out to us or we reached out to them

tian2 asks: What did the people who write the news (i imagine “content”) study? Are there any good paths to journalism other than a journalism degree, in case you’re not sure about journalism?

The team responds: We intentionally look for applicants and people who did not study journalism. So many journalism programs teach their students to be activists rather than journalists and they teach them what to think, rather than how. Being a journalist requires curiosity, writing skills, and a passion for whatever you’re writing about

The content team studied international relations, history, political science, philosophy, finance, international economics, French, and Russian. One of us has a post-grad degree (a Master’s in economics). None of us studied journalism, however three of us had experience in media

ChasteBasteasks: What was the first day of Roca News like, and where do you want it to go?

The team responds: After months of working on a website we (the Maxes and Billy) hoped would revolutionize news consumption, we set August 25, 2020, as launch day. We hardly slept the night before and early that morning, we went to Max F’s Washington, DC, apartment

Around 10 AM, we “launched,” which meant sharing the link on our personal social media. Whatever we expected, it didn’t happen: There were a few dozen clicks, no media announcement, nothing. The three of us sat in the apartment waiting for the Google Analytics page to spike. Instead, it was flat. A few friends reached out to say how good the site looked; a few haters reached out to say our content sucked. For five months, we were practically writing for no one but our families. And then we started to get traction on Instagram!

The team continues: Where do we want it to go now? We want to reach way more people than we are. Big News is making so many people miserable, feeding them divisive and fear-mongering content that doesn’t educate them and only scares them. This is making people depressed, ruining relationships, and closing them off from the world. We need to help these people find Roca so they can know more and worry less. As we expand, we want to create better content about more niches so everyone who wants honest information can get it from Roca

MaddieWalker413 asks: Who keeps the messiest workspace and are they shamed for it?

The team answers: Our writer, Norris. We encourage our staff to embrace creative chaos so, no – he’s not shamed for it. At least until his leftover Chinese food has been in the office fridge for 4 weeks

wtkatie asks: Who is the cheerleader of the group? How do they help keep spirits up?

The team answers: Max Towey would probably take the cheerleader title. His energy and pep talks keep our spirits alive no matter what’s going on. Beyond that, it’s you all and our friends and family. The feedback you send us in this app inspires and motivates us. The same goes for our friends and family who read everything we write, send us ideas, and help to keep us on the right path

Many of you asked about our politics: The left-right split, our voting habits, and so on. Truthfully, there is no political stance that characterizes a majority of our office. The team ranges from socialists to libertarians to people who simply don’t care. Much (maybe most) of the team would identify as neither a “liberal” nor a “conservative”

So many companies require everyone to subscribe to certain beliefs. If you don’t, you’re punished or ostracized. Our mission required the opposite: An environment where people could comfortably hold differing views, speak freely, and embrace that. Without that, how could we ever build an unbiased news company?

MaesterOfWargs writes: What musical artist are you most enjoying right now?

Norris (writer) writes: Fireboy DML

Jen (Executive director) writes: Lolo Zouaï

Max T writes: Nas

Max F writes: Four Tet

Viv (sales) writes: Taylor Swift

Owen Devine (sports and graphics) writes: Turnstile

We have a lot more questions we didn’t get to. We’ll save those for a later date

Enjoy your (hopefully long) weekends!

You can read more stories like this in our app

Roca makes staying informed actually fun. Read more stories, solidify your learning with quizzes, play minigames, earn XP, level up, and climb leaderboards