Richard Donnelly
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — JULY 15 — Richard Donnelly, president of Donnelly Distribution (Pennsauken, N.J.), announced today that he has acquired Broad Street Media and its affiliates. The Philadelphia-area community newspaper and magazine group publishes more than a dozen separate publications.
The group includes the award-winning Philadelphia Weekly alternative weekly and the longstanding Northeast Times and South Philly Review. Together, the publications have a weekly unpaid circulation of more than one-half million.
Donnelly, a minority owner of Broad Street Media, purchased the company from former CEO Darwin Oordt and others who had operated the company since 2010.
“I’m a true believer in the value of community newspapers, and it’s my aim to support journalistic excellence at all of these publications,” Donnelly said. “We have already developed exciting plans for their future.”
Donnelly announced immediate plans to expand distribution of Philadelphia Weekly to sections beyond the weekly’s traditional Center City turf, including Manayunk, Roxborough and East Falls in the northwest, and the burgeoning neighborhoods of Northern Liberties and Fishtown in the north.
Additionally, Donnelly named veteran Philadelphia newspaperman Don Russell to lead the publications’ editorial growth as editor in chief of Broad Street Media.
“Philadelphia needs an alternative, community-based journalistic voice more than ever,” Russell said. “I’m excited to work with Rich to build all of Broad Street Media’s publications, and to give the city’s neighborhoods and suburbs the newspapers they deserve.”
In addition to Russell, Broad Street Media will be led by a management team, including:
● Perry Corsetti, publisher, served previous terms as publisher of Broad Street Media, as well as advertising and finance positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Corsetti is also a board member at the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
● Bob Jacobs is the former publisher of The Guide in Philadelphia and has served as chairman of Northeastern Hospital, board member at Temple University Hospital and advertising executive at Donnelly Distribution.
● John Gallo is the longtime chief operating officer of South Philly Review.
● Brandon Chamberlain, general manager, has held advertising management, production and IT positions at several newspapers, including the Village Voice in New York and Broad Street Media.
About Broad Street Media: Founded in 2010, the company publishes a group of community newspapers and specialty products with a total combined circulation of more than 500,000. These include South Philly Review, Northeast Times, the Star and Philadelphia Weekly in Philadelphia; the Midweek Wire in Bucks County, Pa.; Montgomery County Living magazine in Montgomery County, Pa.; the Wire newspaper, and Gloucester County Living and Burlington County Living magazines in southern New Jersey; Employment Weekly in Philadelphia and New Jersey; the Princeton Packet in New Jersey and Football Stories magazine in New Jersey. The company has about 100 employees.
About Richard Donnelly: Starting from his brother’s garage in 1976, Donnelly built Donnelly Distribution as the Philadelphia region’s largest advertising distribution company. Operating out of a 40,000-square-foot facility in Pennsauken, N.J., it packages advertising inserts for delivery, reaching nearly 900,000 homes every week.
About Don Russell: Known to newspaper readers as beer reporter Joe Sixpack, Russell previously served as a reporter, editor and columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News. A Philadelphia native, he was the creator of Philly Beer Week, the nation’s first and largest citywide beer festival; and was the first executive director of the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild.
For more information: Don Russell, [email protected].
