Who is building that new multi-story project down the street from me and what’s it for? What festive events are being planned and how are local businesses and institutions preparing for the nation’s 250th birthday? How are we faring at protecting and improving our area’s natural resources and environment?

Those are just a small sample of the stories that have been covered in recent weeks and months by the Chestnut Hill Local, which for the last three years in a row has been named a Pennsylvania News Organization of the Year award winner.

It’s not easy. More than once, we’ve described on this page just how hard it is to keep the Local afloat at a time when two and a half newspapers, mostly weeklies like ours, are dying every week in this country.

So that’s one of the reasons why we hope you’ll take a few minutes today to observe Local News Day, April 9. It’s a way of recognizing how lucky we all are to have such a precious resource, especially at a time when the number of reputable news organizations is plummeting. In the last 20 years, “almost 40% of all local U.S. newspapers have vanished, leaving 50 million Americans with limited or no access to a reliable source of local news,” according to the 2025 State of Local News report, issued annually by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Americans overwhelmingly say that local news and information is their most important and most trusted source. These news outlets “strengthen our communities, keep us informed, and hold leaders accountable,” say Local News Day organizers.

Indeed, “at a time when many local news outlets are struggling and Americans’ trust in the news media has waned, the vast majority of U.S. adults (85%) say local news outlets are at least somewhat important to the well-being of their local community. This includes 44% who say local journalism is extremely or very important to their community,” says the Pew-Knight Initiative, which supports research on how Americans absorb and use civic information.

But these news and information resources in many communities — some far away and others very near our area — are in great peril, to the point that an increasing number of towns have become what we call “news deserts” with no local media. Many readers are shocked to learn this, just as they were when we first told them of the Local’s financial predicament.

I recently compared notes with an editor not far from here, for example, who keeps his neighborhood publication alive after he gets home from his full-time day job. He’s exhausted and unpaid. Sometimes, he confessed, he almost hopes it will go out of business, just to give him a little time to call his own. He’s grossly underappreciated by the parent company he works for but hangs in there because he believes it’s important to his community.

But I know what some people think, because I see their comments on social media: If I can get information for free, why should I pay for it?

Let’s start by acknowledging how unreliable such sources are; most people by now have come to realize that social media in particular is not trustworthy. But even when they get it right, few have professional journalists on staff. Much of their information comes from newspapers like ours. I frequently see people asking those with access to post local news stories so they can read them for free. Some get quite indignant when it’s pointed out that journalists are trying to make a living, too.

Our staff at the Local is small but mighty, and they have some thoughts for you.

“Local news is an invaluable resource to communities and, as we know, that resource is becoming increasingly endangered,” said Local reporter and digital editor Maggie Dougherty. “However, the scarcity of local news doesn’t mean it’s any less important to citizens across the country. Everyone deserves to have a local news outlet in their community, shedding light on issues such as politics, zoning and development, crime, environmental concerns, and much more. Everyone also deserves to hear about local businesses, events, and people of interest. All of these factors contribute to the health of a community, helping people understand the inner-workings at play in their neighborhoods and feel more connected to their fellow citizens. I am extremely lucky I get to contribute to this community’s local news.”

Abby Weiss, our environmental reporter, started by thanking “the wonderful sources and readers in Northwest Philadelphia who have assisted me during my first several months at the Chestnut Hill Local. This community is welcoming, intelligent, curious and most importantly, caring about their neighbors and the environment.”

But Abby considers the decline in local news, and the spread of disinformation, as “a threat to our democracy.”

In terms of journalism, “I can talk for hours about the hardships my colleagues have endured for this mission,” she said. “We’ve turned down higher-paying jobs, lost countless hours of sleep and worked tirelessly to receive journalism degrees. I have role models who’ve received death threats and work paycheck to paycheck yet continue this work to help readers like you. Journalists hold the powerful accountable to prevent the public from being manipulated and exploited. So, I ask people this: Without the news, whom can you trust?”

For more information, visit localnewsday.org.