Welcome to Access Media!
We are a hyperlocal news service serving communities across Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Our mission is to empower our community and our readers by providing accurate, up-to-the-minute information regarding news, incidents, elections, events, local events and more.
Below you will find information regarding our editorial team, the types of content we will provide, ways to become involved and more.
From the Editor
My name is Keith Heffintrayer, and I am the Executive Vice President – Editorial Operations and New Markets for Access Media.
In August 2018, I rolled the dice and launched my own hyperlocal news site: North Penn Now. My goal at the time was to fill a coverage gap in the area, and at the time, I hadn’t the faintest clue as to how fast and large the company would grow. In January 2024, North Penn Now was acquired by Access Global Media, and I took an executive role in the new parent company.
In the time since then, I have launched a series of hyperlocal sites across Montgomery, Bucks, and Delaware counties, which include:
Wissahickon Now
Perk Valley Now
Central Bucks Now
Horsham Now
Willow Grove Now
Delco Now
As we scaled up operations with each new site, we brought on an array of talented and experienced journalists, ensuring the communities we serve are supplies with fast, accurate, and interesting news that is relevant to their daily lives.
On the personal side of things, I’m a veteran of the United States Army, having served as a forward observer in the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech). I’m the father of one incredible little girl (though she may not be so little anymore), a devoted husband to an amazing wife, and I enjoy gaming, reading, and volunteering in the community in my spare time.
I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to provide news coverage to the communities of southeastern Pennsylvania. Feel free to reach out to me any time at the contact information listed below.
Sincerely,
Keith Heffintrayer
Executive Vice President, Access Media
kheffintrayer@accessgmt.com
Our Staff
Melissa S. Finley, Regional Editor – Philadelphia Suburbs:
Melissa is a 26-year veteran journalist who has worked for a wide variety of publications over her accomplished career. A summa cum laude graduate of Penn State University’s College of Communications with a degree in journalism, Finley is a single mother to two teens, Seamus and Ash, her chi The Mighty Quinn, and the family’s two cats, Archimedes and Stinky. She enjoys bringing news to readers far and wide.
Tony Di Domizio, Managing Editor – North Penn Now, Central Bucks Now, Perk Valley Now:
Tony has been covering journalism in the North Penn region and beyond for a combined 25 years, starting with Montgomery Media in Ft. Washington and finally landing a dream job with The Reporter for six years in Lansdale in 2004. From there, he was hired to run the Lansdale Patch, growing and nurturing it into one of the largest hyperlocal news sites in southeastern Pennsylvania and the Northeastern United States from 2010 to 2014. Tony graduated Kutzown University with a B.A. in English/Professional Writing and Electronic Media. He has been the recipient of numerous first and second place writing awards for his features and breaking news. Tony enjoys vintage toy collecting, creative writing, and he currently holds a seat on the Lansdale Economic Development Committee.
James “Jimmy James” Short, Multimedia Editor – southeastern Pennsylvania:
Jimmy is a talented, self-taught photographer with over a decade of experience in photography and videography. A North Penn High School graduate, Jimmy has honed his skills in a variety of photographic styles including weddings, portraits, and events, before pivoting to photojournalism. On the private side of his work, Jimmy has worked with high-profile clients such as Kevin Hart, Usher, Ludacris and DJ Khalid, and on the journalism side, his work during the Bill Cosby trial was published in multiple major publications, and he was a contributor to 6ABC and NBC10 prior to taking a freelance position with North Penn Now in June 2023.
In his free time, Jimmy enjoys gaming, posting content to his YouTube page, and hosting the Just Lawing Around podcast on Spotify.
Robby Chakler, Managing Editor – Wissahickon Now, Horsham Now and Willow Grove Now:
Robby Chakler is a veteran journalist and editor with nearly 20 years of experience in print and online media. He has worked at daily print newspapers, magazines and online publications. He grew up in Huntingdon Valley and has stayed in the local Montgomery County area since graduating from Penn State University in 2006, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.
Types of Content Provided:
Our goal is to paint a comprehensive image of day-to-day life across the communities we serve, so we will provide any content that proves useful or enlightening to our readership and residents. That means everything from crime, elections and government to business openings, features on prominent people and more. While the majority of our content will be original, there will be times where we aggregate from other sources, share content with our colleagues from other sites, post press releases and publish content from users and residents.
We also have a content sharing agreement with The Reporter and their affiliates, so you’ll see some of their subscriber content posted across our sites and you’ll see some of our content carried over into their print editions.
If you have a story idea or see something that should be covered (immediately or otherwise), please send your information to kheffintrayer@accessgmt.com.
Police, Courts, and Criminal Investigations:
Anyone mentioned in a police blotter, criminal case or court proceeding is legally innocent until proven guilty.
Our crime and court coverage comes from a mixture of criminal complaints, information provided by police, and information provided by the district attorney’s office. Unless there is a unique circumstance or overwhelming public interest, we do not provide coverage for misdemeanor or summary charges.
Takedown Policy
Requests for the removal of an article are either granted or denied on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the Executive Vice President or the Managing Editor overseeing the coverage.
In nearly all cases where a takedown request is granted, the article will remain on our servers for record-keeping purposes, however the article will not be visible on the site and will no longer appear in search results on or off site.
Letters to the Editor / Op-Ed Policy
Access Network welcomes editorial submissions from community leaders, elected officials, candidates running for office and the public at large. We believe that these submissions can present solutions to issues, further civil discourse on volatile issues and allow voters to understand the candidates.
We have no requirements regarding the length or style of editorial submissions, however we ask that submissions refrain from personal attacks and instead focus their efforts on policy or the issue at hand. Submissions that attack or focus on individuals instead of their positions will be rejected. We strongly encourage hyperlinking statements to credible sources when establishing or reinforcing a position or claim, and we also request authors provide solutions to any issues raised to provide utility to the readers.
Editorials are approved or rejected on a per-submission basis. Editorials may be edited by our staff for punctuation, grammar and style. All claims made within the editorial are representative of the author.
Get Involved! Send Us Your Ideas and Tips!
Sometimes it takes a (hyperlocal) village, and for us, that includes you, the reader! If you encounter something newsy or noteworthy, reach out and let us know! Maybe it’s a funny moment, or a small-business ribbon cutting, or a line of ducklings slowing down traffic — shoot an email to kheffintrayer@accessgmt.com or contact us through our social media pages to let us know what you’re seeing!
Corrections and Errors
All requests for corrections and errors should be directed to kheffintrayer@accessgmt.com. Please include a link to the article in question and be as specific as possible regarding the error or correction needed.
In instances involving typos or minor grammatical errors, the change will be made with no update or announcement. In instances involving missing context, information, or information that later became available, an editor’s note will be added to the body of the story to reflect the change/update.
In cases where published information is proven to conclusively be inaccurate, a retraction will be added to the article along with an explanation of what was removed and why.