The Local expands its reach with a new radio partnership

Look for the show on G-Town Radio

by Daralyse Lyons, Publisher
Posted 1/30/25

On Jan. 24, the Chestnut Hill Local launched its new radio show, "A Local Lens," on G-Town Radio, 92.9 FM. Once a month, on the second Friday from 9-10 a.m., we'll be reporting live, bringing insights, expertise and community voices to the airwaves.

Despite our name – and our 67-year-old legacy reputation – the Local has consistently served the Northwest Philadelphia region, which includes Mt. Airy, Germantown and parts of Montgomery County. We've launched this show to demonstrate our commitment to serving this expanded community.

Our first episode offered an inside look at …

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The Local expands its reach with a new radio partnership

Look for the show on G-Town Radio

Posted

On Jan. 24, the Chestnut Hill Local launched its new radio show, "A Local Lens," on G-Town Radio, 92.9 FM. Once a month, on the second Friday from 9-10 a.m., we'll be reporting live, bringing insights, expertise and community voices to the airwaves.

Despite our name – and our 67-year-old legacy reputation – the Local has consistently served the Northwest Philadelphia region, which includes Mt. Airy, Germantown and parts of Montgomery County. We've launched this show to demonstrate our commitment to serving this expanded community.

Our first episode offered an inside look at how our business works, and featured a conversation between myself and Development Associate Samantha Gibb Roff – whose work involves securing sustainable funding for the Local. 

Roff, who lived in Mt. Airy for 11 years and began her career as a journalist before transitioning to fundraising, has been instrumental in securing new revenue streams. As our readers are no doubt aware, her efforts – along with Local board and staff members – secured a Lenfest Sustainability Grant in 2024 that led to my hiring as the Local's first business growth officer, a role now absorbed into my publishing duties.

"The Local was interested in developing contributed income as a revenue stream because newspapers – especially the small local newspapers that serve our communities so well – are dropping like flies,” Roff explained. "The Chestnut Hill Local is an important vehicle for information to the Northwest region of Philadelphia. So, we needed to look at where the revenue was coming in and where we could enhance it with contributed income."

Lenfest is one of three substantial grants secured by Roff, along with a technology grant from the Philadelphia Foundation's Waterman II Fund and a Report for America Grant. Regular Local readers will be familiar with these grants, and their impact on our service. In our conversation with G-Town radio listeners, Roff emphasized the importance of cultivating relationships within the community - with potential funders, advertisers, readers and sources.

Roff described newspapers as "safeguards" and as "part of the checks and balances for our democracy" requiring "an amalgamation of many voices."

They’re also a reflection of who we are. 

“I mean, the articles by Len Lear are beloved, as are the obituaries where people hear about the man who worked in the shop at Woodmere who passed away,” Roff said. “As I've moved about town, I’ve learned how many people are so appreciative of this kind of news – the tidbits of information and background about their neighbors that they just would not know if not for the Local. It's really a piece of Northwest Philadelphia that's particular to our community - and not going to be seen in the Philadelphia Inquirer.”

People are at the heart of the work we do at the Local – and Roff took the time to acknowledge the people who have supported the Local and the Chestnut Hill Community Association's annual Better Together campaign. This particularly includes the local business owners who will be designating a day to donate a portion of their proceeds to the campaign: Weavers Way Next Door on Jan. 25, Cosmino's Pizza on Jan. 27, McNally's on Jan. 29 and Chestnut Hill Brewing on Jan. 30.

"We are so appreciative of their history, their participation, and their sense of community," Roff said of these businesses. "We're definitely all better together."

Tune in on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, at 9 a.m. for a conversation between myself and editor Carla Robinson.