Good morning and welcome to Broad + Liberty's Weekly Reads.

Stay up to date on all of this and more when yousubscribe to our daily email list ([link removed]) and get the best of Broad + Liberty delivered straight to your inbox.


** 1. A turning point for local journalism — welcome to Fideri News Network ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


By Terry Tracy

From the founding of our republic, the health of our civic life has rested upon a simple but profound truth: a free and independent press is not merely a feature of democracy — it is one of its chief guarantors. The framers understood that liberty is not self-perpetuating; it must be renewed through informed citizens, accountable institutions, and a shared commitment to truth that transcends partisan preferences.

It is with that conviction that I share news of a significant milestone. Broad + Liberty has acquired Access Network, bringing together two of the fastest-growing media organizations in our region under one banner: the Fideri News Network.

With this step, we are creating one of the largest native digital media audiences in Pennsylvania, serving communities from Harrisburg to Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore, and beyond.

Why It Matters. The choice of the name Fideri — from the Latin “to trust” or “to be faithful” — is deliberate. Trust is not an entitlement of the press; it is a covenant with the reader, earned through consistency, rigor, and moral courage. In Latin, fideri means more than personal reliability—it means fidelity to the bonds of trust that uphold institutions, civic life, and the public good.

Fidelity in journalism is to recognize that our work does more than record events — it shapes our civic conscience. It reflects the lived realities of our neighbors and provides the compass by which communities chart their collective future.

In this work, we see ourselves as stewards, not proprietors, of a tradition that predates us and will outlast us if we tend to it faithfully. The press is, in the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, the “chief democratic instrument of freedom,”— a moral instrument for the advancement of the public good.

As Fideri News Network grows, so too does our obligation to the citizens we serve. We will continue to inform with clarity, challenge with civility, and hold power to account without fear or favor. In doing so, we hope to not only chronicle the events of our time but to help secure the conditions for liberty in its own cradle.

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 2. If SEPTA is sacred, then it must be deal-worthy ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By Guy Ciarrocchi

Who knew that SEPTA was so sacred?

Growing up in South Philly and having lived in Paoli for decades, after years as a public policy advocate and then a governmental official, I wrote a column on the SEPTA “funding crisis.” ([link removed]) A lifetime rider of SEPTA — subways, buses, and regional rail — my straightforward column pointed out that: 84 percent of SEPTA’s budget comes from taxpayers (among the highest on the east coast), the share contributed by riders is falling, ridership is only 72 percent of pre-Covid levels, routes haven’t been restructured in 60 years, and crime is so bad that the legislature actually created a “special prosecutor” just for SEPTA.

So, maybe SEPTA ought to get its house in order and develop a plan of action before Governor Shapiro and the legislature just toss in more taxpayer money.

Why It Matters. SEPTA is apparently so special that it deserves whatever funding it wants, no oversight — no accountability, even when it loses customers and quality. There’s nothing like it.

SEPTA (like public education) has a fanbase that romanticizes about what mass transit is and what it means, like in a novel about a European vacation — having nothing to do with SEPTA’s reality.
But if, in fact, SEPTA is that special and truly needs money, as a SEPTA rider, I’ll offer a suggestion — so the “trains can run on time.”

One option is for Team SEPTA to offer to do something important to those legislators who are skeptical of giving more taxpayer money to SEPTA.
Yes, quid pro quo.

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 3. Lightning Round
------------------------------------------------------------
* Broad + Liberty unites with Access Network in strategic acquisition, creating one of PA’s largest native digital media audiences ([link removed])
* Claim: Shapiro had no ‘need to know’ about harassment claims against cabinet-level director ([link removed])
* Beth Ann Rosica: NEA’s ‘Everyone Is Welcome’ toolkit pushes politics, not academics ([link removed])
* Fitzpatrick, Perry join bipartisan group with bill to ban congressional stock trading ([link removed])
* Guy Ciarrocchi: Safe and secure? Don’t bet on it. ([link removed])
* Paul Davis: Deadlier than the O.K. Corral — South Philly’s modern-day shootout ([link removed])
* Thom Nickels: Questions at the font — journalists visit the Mormon Temple ([link removed])
* David Reel: Grassroots and astroturf ([link removed])


** 4. What we're reading
------------------------------------------------------------

"Butler is not a true-crime book and it is not a campaign chronicle. It is a report from a political realignment as it crests, a dispatch from what Zito argues is the decisive reshaping of Pennsylvania’s electorate and, by extension, the country’s.”

So writes Oliver Bateman this week for RealClear Pennsylvania ([link removed]) in his review of Salena Zito’s latest book ([link removed]) . Zito has long chronicled the political landscape in western Pennsylvania, and by now many other observers of the political scene are noticing what she has been saying for years: the commonwealth is changing politically from the keystone of the late-20th-century Blue Wall to an increasingly red swing state. “Democrats can still win Pennsylvania,” Bateman says, “yet the default setting has flipped.”


** 5. Download our app!
------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re reading this, you already know we’re the only place you can find certain stories in Pennsylvania—the ones other outlets won’t touch, the ones that dig deeper, and the straightforward political news that keeps you ahead of the spin.

Now, we’re bringing that news straight to you — faster, clearer, and without the noise.

The Broad + Liberty mobile app is here, and they’re the fastest way to get Pennsylvania’s real news. Read all about it here ([link removed]) !
[link removed]

Broad + Liberty is funded by readers like you.

Your generous support ensures that Broad + Liberty can bring you stories and opinions that Pennsylvania’s mainstream media would rather leave unheard. Please consider making a contribution today. If you would like your gift to be used to help us cover a specific story or subject, please let us know in the contribution form or at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

As always, gifts made to Broad + Liberty are 100% tax deductible!

Thank you, dear reader, for your steadfast support of our independent, broad-minded brand of local journalism. We could not do this without you.

With gratitude,

— The Editors at Broad + Liberty
Support Broad + Liberty ([link removed])
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

============================================================
Copyright © 2025 Broad + Liberty, All rights reserved.
You're getting Broad + Liberty updates due to your interest in our site – and local stories for free thinkers in the Philly region and beyond.

Our mailing address is:
Broad + Liberty
323 West Front Street
Suite 200
Media, PA 19063
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.

Broad and Liberty, Inc. is a Pennsylvania Domestic Nonprofit Corporation classifed as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (c) (3).
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]