The dog days of summer are in full swing.
Amidst the heat, our Village has continued to grow and celebrate some summer milestones. Check it out:
July saw a number of new team members join our Village, including:
Central news desk reporter Jen Golletz
StratfordToday reporter Connor Luczka
CityNews Ottawa weekend editor/reporter Kate Mackenzie
CityNews Kitchener weekend editor/reporter Isabel Buckmaster
Welcome to all!
Coffeehouse community events
To continue with the terrific momentum of our launch events in our newest markets, we are hosting coffeehouse events in Stratford and Halton Hills over the next few months. The events give the community an opportunity to meet and chat with our team, share story ideas and learn more about our sites. Guests also get a free coffee to start their day, on us!
Our recent events in both communities had a great turnout and the StratfordToday and HaltonHillsToday teams had a chance to connect with many community members and business leaders.
In other new site news, HaltonHillsToday finished off its first month with over 20,000 readers visiting the site to get their local news. Great job, team!
Introducing a new Village partner
Another new partner is joining our Village this summer. We are thrilled to be working with Springs Publishing to enhance its products and grow the audience for its hyperlocal news sites in the Atlanta area.
The Reporter Newspapers group of monthly print publications serves communities in and around Atlanta. The publisher is looking to grow its digital presence through our partnership, which kicks off this month.
I’m sure we will be seeing exciting things from this new partner in the future!
The importance of advertising to the success of local journalism
It has always been our mission to provide the news our communities need to stay informed in a way that is free and accessible to all. Local news is integral to a healthy, vibrant community. But, while we provide this service to our readers for free, it is not free for us to produce.
We rely on our advertisers to help fund the resources necessary to deliver on our mission each day.
As such, we have implemented an anti-ad blocking mechanism on our sites. Readers who have their ad blockers turned on will see the message below when they visit our sites. If they click the button to allow ads on the site they are visiting, they will proceed to the site and be able to continue consuming their local news for free.
Big Read addresses big problems with ghost hotels
Marg. Bruineman explores the boom in short-term vacation rentals—and what it’s like to live next door to one of these party houses. As Airbnbs continue to surge in popularity, cities across Ontario are grappling with how to regulate the industry and keep the peace.
Pawesome Villager of the month
Who is your favourite feline superhero with a dislike for children? 🙃 ….Dishes!
(proud parent: Gary Assis)
See you next month!
