The digital executive and entrepreneur brings over four decades of experience in digital media and journalism innovation to the Sault Ste. Marie-headquarted digital news publisher, including serving as CEO of Salon Media Group, Worldwide Services at Apple, and Vice President of Content at early consumer broadband provider, @Home Network.

Village Media currently owns and operates 26 local news sites in Ontario, five other news-related sites, and licenses its publishing platform, Villager, to another 120 publications across Canada and the U.S. It’s expanded over the past year into social networking, with the launch of SPACES in several communities it serves.

“Richard’s extensive experience in digital media and his commitment to journalistic integrity align perfectly with our mission to innovate and strengthen local news,” said Village Media CEO Jeff Elgie, in a company announcement. “I have worked with Richard for many years and he has become both a mentor of mine and a passionate supporter of the work we do. His leadership will be invaluable as we continue to grow and serve our communities.”

Gingras also helped found global think tank, the Center for News, Technology & Innovation, and the Trust Project, a global initiative to promote transparency and trust in journalism. He currently serves on the boards of the First Amendment Coalition, the International Center for Journalists, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, and PRX, the public media podcast network.

“I am honoured to join Village Media as Chair of the Board,” said Gingras. “Village Media’s dedication to local journalism and strengthening local communities is of critical value and  importance. I look forward to working with Jeff and the talented Village team to further their mission and explore new avenues for innovation in local news delivery.”

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Village Media has announced its acquisition of Ontario provincial politics newsletter Queen’s Park Today, and Parliament Today, its federal counterpart. Founded in 2012 by journalist and entrepreneur Allison Smith, Queen’s Park Today is targeted at Ontario lawmakers, political staffers and insiders, while Parliament Today was launched in 2021 to cover federal politics and all things Parliament Hill. Both newsletters will now operate as part of The Trillium, Village Media’s legislative bureau at Queen’s Park, which it launched early last year. Katherine Declerq will continue her role as editor of Queen’s Park Today, in addition to taking on editorial duties at Parliament Today. Reporter Alan S. Hale will continue to write the Queen’s Park Today newsletter under The Trillium banner, while Parliament Hill reporter Palak Mangat will continue to write the Parliament Today newsletter. Allison Smith also joins Village Media as the founding editor of the soon-to-launch TorontoToday. Read more here.

Indiegraf has closed a $2.2 million seed round and secured additional funding from American social investors, the Knight Foundation. The seed round of funding was led by StandUp Ventures with participation from Coralus and Mucker Capital. CEO Erin Millar, who co-founded the publishing solutions provider for journalist entrepreneurs, alongside her sister Caitlin Havlak in 2020, said in a post to LinkedIn that the organization is on a mission to prove that local media can be good business. Indiegraf currently boasts 60 partner publisher titles under its network umbrella, including IndigiNews, Peterborough Currents and The Resolve.

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Founded in 2012 by journalist and entrepreneur Allison Smith, Queen’s Park Today is targeted at Ontario lawmakers, political staffers and insiders, while Parliament Today was launched in 2021 to cover federal politics and all things Parliament Hill.

The deal, which closed Oct. 1, establishes Village Media’s first-ever bureau on Parliament Hill.

Both newsletters will now operate as part of The Trillium, Village Media’s legislative bureau at Queen’s Park, which it launched early last year.

Katherine Declerq will continue her role as editor of Queen’s Park Today, in addition to taking on editorial duties at Parliament Today. Before joining Queen’s Park Today this summer, Katherine was CTV News’ bureau chief at the legislature. Reporter Alan S. Hale will continue to write the Queen’s Park Today newsletter under The Trillium banner, while Parliament Hill reporter Palak Mangat will continue to write the Parliament Today newsletter.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have these talented journalists join our team,” said Jessica Smith Cross, editor-in-chief of The Trillium, in a Village Media announcement. “Today’s announcement is a reason for optimism about the future of Canadian news.”

Allison Smith also joins Village Media as the founding editor of the soon-to-launch TorontoToday, covering the community of about 300,000 from the Island on the south to Bloor on the north, Don Valley Parkway on the east and Bathurst on the West.

“I have called Toronto home for 16 years and I am so excited to turn my journalistic eye on the city,” said Smith. “There is so much local news that goes unreported. TorontoToday is going to change that.”

“We like to call it one plus one equals three,” added Jeff Elgie, CEO of Village Media. “Subscribers who’ve loved Queen’s Park Today for years will get access to The Trillium’s exclusives, and The Trillium’s subscribers will love getting Queen’s Park Today in their inbox every weekday morning. Everyone gets more than they signed up for.”

Village Media currently operates 25 local news websites across Ontario, including GuelphToday, SooToday,BarrieToday, Sudbury.com and BurlingtonToday.

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