SooToday.com was originally launched in 2000 as a regional tabloid shopping and business directory, owned by former broadcaster Dick Peplow. Following significant news cutbacks at
MCTV, which merged all of the region's local television newscasts into a single regional program produced in Sudbury, SooToday began producing locally focused news content. In doing so, they became one of the first prominent Canadian ventures in hyperlocal web-only media. local IT consultant Jeff Elgie, formerly a minority investor in the site, increased his ownership stake, and eventually became CEO. Inspired by the SooToday.com model, a different company launched TimminsToday.com, which was acquired by Village Media in 2014. The company's recent expansion efforts have concentrated on midsized cities in Southern Ontario, typically launching soon after the closure of the community's prior daily newspaper. It launched BarrieToday.com in October 2015 in
Barrie, GuelphToday.com in February 2016 in
Guelph, and OrilliaMatters.com in
Orillia in 2018.
OttawaMatters.com in
Ottawa and
KitchenerToday.com in
Kitchener, in conjunction with
Rogers Radio-owned news radio stations in those markets, although all have since been converted to the Rogers-owned
CityNews brand. In 2020, the company acquired the assets of
Laurentian Media Group, including the
Sudbury.com news website and the business magazine
Northern Ontario Business. Village Media ceased publication of Laurentian's twice-weekly print newspaper
Northern Life while retaining the Sudbury.com web edition. In early 2021, the company expanded into the United States for the first time, with the acquisition of
The Longmont Leader in
Longmont, Colorado. The news website was shuttered in 2024. In February 2023, the company launched
The Trillium, an outlet that focuses on Ontario politics. They hired iPolitics's alumnus Jessica Smith Cross, the editor of publication and Charlie Pinkerton, a reporter, after they resigned over allegations that iPolitics suppressed on developers attending a
stag and doe party for Ontario Premier
Doug Ford's daughter's wedding. VM Radio was shut down. In 2024 the company announced plans to launch
Spaces, a localized
social networking platform that will enable users to join customized groups to discuss topics of community interest, such as local sports and history. ==Assets owned by Village Media==