MIAMI, Fla., and SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced a significant investment to launch digital newsrooms in 15 U.S. communities across three states in partnership with Village Media. The $5 million investment will bring Village Media’s proven model for sustainable, community-first local journalism to the U.S. The new markets will be developed and operated by Village Media.
“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. “The project with Knight Foundation will test Village’s scalable, sustainable model for rebuilding local news and civic engagement in the U.S.”
“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.
The partnership reflects a shared belief that local journalism is essential civic infrastructure — and that communities need trusted information as well as stronger ways to connect, participate, pursue opportunities, solve problems and support local life.
Village Media, headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, operates one of North America’s most successful digital-only local news networks, currently serving 27 communities and 4 million unique visitors. The company has built a sustainable model rooted in local reporting, community engagement, advertising, events and civic participation. Its work is organized around five pillars: inform, connect, grow, support and empower.
Knight Foundation has long been one of the leading philanthropic supporters of journalism, civic information and community engagement in the United States. Through this partnership, Knight and Village Media will work together to demonstrate a new ownership and operating model for strengthening local news and civic life in communities where trusted local information is increasingly at risk.
The initiative will focus on three clusters of communities across three U.S. states, starting with Wisconsin. Village has tentatively targeted Pennsylvania and Illinois as the other two initial states and expects to announce specific markets and launch timing at a later date.
“This is not just an expansion strategy,” Elgie said. “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.”
For Knight Foundation, it represents an opportunity 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. More than 50 million Americans now have limited or no access to a reliable source of local news, according to the 2025 Northwestern Medill State of Local News report.
The new U.S. newsrooms will be built on Village Media’s digital publishing platform, community engagement tools and operating model. Each newsroom will be locally focused, locally staffed and designed to serve the distinct needs of its community.
Village Media said the cluster approach is intentional. By launching groups of neighboring communities, the partnership will build local newsroom capacity while also sharing operational support, sales infrastructure and editorial expertise across each regional network.
While journalism remains the foundation, the model goes beyond traditional news publishing. Village’s local operations are designed as community impact organizations, with a mandate to:
“Village Media has shown that there is a durable, scalable and community-focused model for local journalism,” said Richard Gingras, board chair of Village Media. “We see our mission as providing both the information communities need but also the frameworks for engagement that can empower communities to address their own opportunities and challenges.”
About Village Media:
Village Media is a digital-only local news and community information company headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The company operates a growing network of local news sites serving communities across Canada, as well as The Trillium, a leading Ontario political news publication. Village Media’s work is built around five pillars: inform, connect, grow, support and empower. Through local journalism, technology, civic engagement, community partnerships and sustainable business models, Village Media aims to strengthen the communities it serves.
About Knight Foundation:
Knight Foundation is a social investor that supports democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy and the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers.
Media Contact:
Village Media
Jeff Elgie
CEO
jeff@villagemedia.ca
705-257-8504
Richard Gingras
Chair of the Board, Village Media
richard.gingras@gmail.com
650-793-0093
Knight Foundation
Atena Sherry
Director/Communications
sherry@kf.org
202-549-0990
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