Sponsorship & Editorial Policy
Effective August 4, 2026 · Last updated August 4, 2026
How sponsorship works
- One sponsor per issue. Not a block of ads, not a rotating carousel. One.
- Always labeled. Every sponsor message is marked "Sponsored by". If you cannot immediately tell that something is paid, we have failed.
- Fixed position. A short native blurb in a set slot, mid-issue. It never opens the Brief and never dresses itself up as a story.
- No advertorial. No sponsored Leads. Ever. We do not write paid articles, we do not accept pre-written "thought leadership" as editorial, and there is no price at which the lead story is for sale.
What sponsors get — and don't
| Sponsors get | Sponsors never get |
|---|---|
|
One labeled slot in front of the whole list Aggregate stats: subscriber count, open rate, click rate A say over their own copy |
Your email address, or any list Advance notice of what's in an issue Review, approval, or veto over editorial Any say in what we cover or how |
Subscriber data is never part of a sponsorship. See the Email Policy and Privacy Policy.
Covering a sponsor
Being a sponsor buys no protection and no favor. If a sponsor files at the PUCT, catches a deficiency notice, or lands in the middle of a story, we cover it exactly as we would anyone else — and we disclose the relationship in that issue.
The converse holds too: sponsoring the Brief does not get a company mentioned in the editorial. If a sponsor appears in a story, it is because the story is about them.
Conflicts of interest
GridNerd is editorially independent. Where a subject of coverage has a business relationship with GridNerd or STACHOLD GROUP LLC — as a sponsor, customer, partner, or competitor — we disclose it in the issue.
We do not accept payment, equity, travel, gifts, or anything else of value in exchange for coverage. We do not trade on non-public information encountered while reporting.
How we source
- Every factual claim links to its source — the docket, the filing, the recording, the statute. If we cannot link it, we say where it came from and how confident we are.
- Primary documents over press releases. The Brief is built on what was actually filed, not on what someone announced was filed.
- Analysis is labeled as analysis. When we tell you what we think something means, it reads as opinion, distinct from the record.
- The Brief is journalism about regulation, not legal advice. See the Terms of Use.
Corrections
We will get things wrong. When we do, we correct it in the next issue, plainly, in the body — not silently, and not in a footnote. Material errors get a note at the top. If you spot one, tell us at brief@gridnerd.com; the fastest correction wins.
Interested in sponsoring?
The Brief reaches the people making and advising on large-load decisions in Texas — developers, counsel, consultants, and analysts. One slot per issue, sold in blocks, priced by list size.
Write to sponsors@gridnerd.com. Everything on this page is part of the deal, and it is not negotiable.