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Caerphilly Observer has had the journalistic tables turned on them by Caerphilly Senedd Member Hefin David.

Dr David sat down with our Publisher and Editor Richard Gurner over the summer for an interview for the first in a new podcast series called Caerffili’s Heroes for hospital radio station Ysbyty Ystrad FM.

In the podcast Richard talks about his career – starting at the now defunct Campaign and how he set-up Caerphilly Observer from scratch as a secret side project while he was working for the Brighton Argus.

Richard also talks about some of the financial challenges local journalism is facing as the traditional business model of an ad-funded news service is changing.

Dr David said: “My role in the Senedd means that I spend a great deal of time visiting local community groups, meeting residents and having the opportunities to see what is going on and who is doing what.

“Especially since the pandemic took hold, it has really become clear that the communities in my constituency rely on projects and information like the Caerphilly Observer, Caerphilly Uniform Exchange and numerous others.

“I thought this would be a brilliant opportunity – with the support of Lynne Hughes-Williams at YYFM, to highlight these people, who are pillars of the community and making such a difference with what they do”.

New episodes will be released fortnightly and are available on all the usual streaming channels.