Welcome to North Penn Now!
We are a hyperlocal news service serving the municipalities that comprise North Penn School District, as well as the surrounding area. Our mission is to empower our community and our readers by providing accurate, up-to-the-minute information regarding news, incidents, elections, events, local happenings 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 an Executive Editor with Access Global — parent company of Wissahickon Now and North Penn Now.
My career in journalism began as a columnist for the Lansdale Patch in December 2010, though I quickly worked my way into a regional correspondent role in the months that followed. A little over 16 months later, I was editor of multiple Patch sites across Montgomery County and my love for hyperlocal journalism really began to blossom.
In August 2018, I rolled the dice and launched North Penn Now. My goal at the time was to fill a coverage gap in the area, and I never had even the faintest clue as to how massive the site would become. By August 2023, we had already obliterated our five-year goals for readership and revenue, and in February of this year — with an average monthly readership of 250,000 readers — the company I founded was acquired by Access Global.
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.
North Penn Now Staff:
Tony Di Domizio, Managing Editor:
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 by Patch to run Montgomeryville-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, with an average of 50,000 to 55,000 Unique Visitors a month. Tony graduated Kutztown 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 now serves as Managing Editor of North Penn Now, and he will also be frequently contributing to Wissahickon Now. In his spare time, Tony enjoys vintage toy collecting, gaming, listening to all genres of music, volunteering with York Avenue Home & School Association, reading, and creative writing. He currently holds a seat on the Lansdale Economic Development Committee.
James “Jimmy James” Short, Photographer / Videographer / Contributor:
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.
Mike Morsch, Freelance Columnist:
Mike Morsch is an award-winning content strategist and journalist with decades of reporting and editorial experience throughout the region. A University of Iowa grad, Mike currently works as a publications coordinator and senior writer for Salus University in Elkins Park, along with a recurring freelance feature writer for Wissahickon Now and North Penn Now.
Mike is a 15-time Philadelphia Press Association award winner in the areas of enterprise reporting, special subject writing, business coverage, column writing and sports writing, and a seven-time Suburban Newspapers of America award winner in the areas of in-depth reporting, column writing, sports writing and headline writing.
Melissa S. Finley, Freelance Reporter
Melissa is a 26-year veteran journalist who has worked for a wide variety of publications over her enjoyable 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.
Types of Content Provided:
Our goal is to paint a comprehensive image of day-to-day life in the North Penn community, 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, so you’ll see some of their subscriber content posted here 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 [email protected] or [email protected].
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.
Letters to the Editor / Op-Ed Policy
North Penn Now 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 [email protected], [email protected], or contact us on our Facebook page to let us know what you’re seeing!
