Village Media is making a major push into the U.S. that will see the Canadian digital publisher establish newsrooms in 15 communities across three states.
Headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Village Media currently serves 27 communities, including local news sites in Toronto, Collingwood, Barrie, Guelph, North Bay, Timmins and Stratford, as well as Ontario political news publication, The Trillium.
Its U.S. expansion is being funded with the help of a $5 million investment from social investor, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. To be developed and operated by Village Media, the new markets will be built on the company’s digital publishing platform, community engagement tools and operating model, with each newsroom to be locally focused and staffed, “designed to serve the distinct needs of its community.”
The initiative will focus on three clusters of communities across three U.S. states, starting with Wisconsin. Pennsylvania and Illinois are tentatively targeted as the other two states.
“Village Media’s model has been developed over more than a decade in Canadian communities, where the company has grown with an explicit commitment to community impact, built around the belief that local media companies can be more than news providers — they can be active, constructive partners in the communities they serve,” said Jeff Elgie, CEO of Village Media, in a company announcement. “The project with Knight Foundation will test Village’s scalable, sustainable model for rebuilding local news and civic engagement in the U.S.”
Knight Foundation says it wants to help bring a proven local news and engagement model into U.S. communities “at a moment when the need for reliable local information has never been greater,” citing the more than 50 million Americans who now have limited or no access to a reliable source of local news, according to the 2025 Northwestern Medill State of Local News report.
“Strong local news is essential to thriving communities. Village Media has demonstrated that it’s possible to build local news organizations that are both impactful and sustainable, and we’re excited to help expand that model so more Americans have access to trusted local journalism,” said Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, President and CEO of Knight Foundation.
Both organizations say they want to demonstrate that a new local news ownership and operating model is possible in a climate where trusted local information is increasingly at risk. Village Media says the cluster approach to launching in neighbouring communities builds local newsroom capacity, while also allowing operational resources to be shared across sales, administration support and editorial, regionally.
“This is not just an expansion strategy,” said Elgie. “It is a community strategy. Our goal is to build local organizations that earn trust, strengthen connections, support local businesses and help communities solve problems together.”
