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YORKREGION.COM

yorkregion.com is a community website serving residents and businesses of York Region. It provides local news, event information, a business and community directory, movie and real estate listings, and employment listings.

To enquire about advertising opportunities on yorkregion.com please contact Dawna Andrews at
905-952-2574.


YORK REGION MEDIA GROUP
York Region Media Group, a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd, is the dominant information provider in York Region’s nine municipalities. We are the newspapers of record, the distribution company of dependability, adaptability and outstanding service and the innovative media services company of tomorrow. YRMG publisher, Ian Proudfoot is committed to ensuring the media group makes a positive difference in the communities it serves.

OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

York Region Media Group (YRMG) serves readers and advertisers in York Region and south Simcoe County. See Frequently Asked Questions. Its award-winning Community Newspapers include The Era-Banner (serving Newmarket, Aurora, King, East Gwillimbury, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Georgina), Georgina Advocate, Vaughan Citizen, The Liberal (serving Richmond Hill and Thornhill), Markham Economist & Sun, the Stouffville Sun-Tribune, and the Bradford West Gwillimbury Topic. Our other core print products include North of the City, a glossy lifestyle magazine; and Being Well, a health and wellness magazine. For advertising information click here.

YRMG offers targeted and mass flyer and product distributions over York Region covering more than 900,000 residents over nine municipalities: Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, King, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Aurora, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury and Georgina. Flyer and coupon users will enjoy visiting Flyerland, a site launched in early 2008 for online coupons, flyers and gift cards.

York Region Printing is a full-service, full-colour printer of small newspapers, directories, glossy publications, guidebooks, business stationery and cards, calendars, posters and more serving the business and consumer needs of the community.

YRMG Classifieds offers regional classified advertising opportunities both in print and online. To place and pay for your ad directly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, use our self-serve classified system. Popular categories are Help Wanted and Apartment Rentals.

YRMG Events Management operates popular consumer trade shows in York Region throughout the year. These shows cover a whole host of interests. Shows include the Spring and Fall Markham Home Show, the Private Education Fair, a spring Wedding Show, the Heart of Country craft show, and the Markham Art in the Park.

Specialty publications include telephone directories, an online business and community directory, a twice-yearly seniors directory, local community and leisure guides, and other resources for York Region residents and businesses.

YRMG offers two compelling real estate print publications: York Region’s local Showcase of Homes editions, focusing on the resale market, and Today’s Homes, a biweekly new homes guide. Showcase of Homes is York Region’s largest home delivered Real Estate Publication providing realtors, vendors and home seekers with the most comprehensive coverage in York Region. In addition, yorkregion.com's comprehensive online real estate section offers searchable listings of properties across the region. Total Home, a frequent feature within our newspapers, targets the home improvement market.

Automotive buyers and sellers in York Region are served by regular newspaper sections with both local and regional advertising opportunities, and online with new and used local vehicles, car reviews and dealer listings at yourautos.ca.


COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
9 Heritage Road, Markham
Phone: 905-294-2200
The Markham Economist & Sun is published twice a week (Thursday and Saturday) serving the communities of Markham, Unionville and Milliken. It has a circulation of 63,800.
Markham’s newspapers had humble beginnings. The first such publications were the Farmer’s Gazette and the Markham Advertiser, which existed briefly in the late 1820s. Both short-lived papers were nothing more than one-page flyers.
In 1856, David Reesor founded the Markham Economist, which flourished. Since 1881, the Economist’s rival, was the Markham Sun. It was bought by the Economist in 1915, creating the Economist and Sun.
The merger proved successful, and the paper has continued to flourish.
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580B Steven Court, Newmarket
Phone: 905-773-7627

The Era-Banner is published three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) serving the communities of Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Bradford and King Township. It is published in broadsheet format on Thursdays. It has a circulation of 67,000.
The Era-Banner traces its lineage back to 1852, when English immigrant printer G.S. Porter first published The New Era in Newmarket.
The town’s population was only 500 and The New Era was the only newspaper between Toronto and Barrie. Mr. Porter soon sold the paper to Erastus Jackson and it remained, by and large, in Jackson family hands until 1934.
The name was changed to The Newmarket Era in 1861 and the content moved forward with the times. Below the masthead, Mr. Jackson added the line, “news, politics, literature, science, education and agriculture”.
Three years later and only a few kilometres to the south in the newly named community of Aurora, former teacher W.L. Matthews published the first edition of The Aurora Banner and County of York Literary, Political, Agricultural and Advertising Journal.
Former town clerk, Sylvester Lundy, purchased the paper in 1870 and it remained in the Lundy family for more than 70 years.
The year 1965 was pivotal for both publications. The Toronto Star purchased The Aurora Banner for its Metrospan weekly newspaper chain and The Toronto Telegram, now defunct, purchased the Newmarket Era for its own chain of suburban weeklies under the Inland Publishing name.
In 1978, Metrospan purchased the Inland chain, ending 100 years of lively competition for the two newspapers. The Era and The Banner became part of Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing, one of the largest newspaper chains in North America.
The newspapers continued to publish as separate publications until 1989, when they were merged to form The Era-Banner.
In 2005 the Era-Banner placed first in North America for general excellence in the non-daily newspaper designation.
In 2003 the Era-Banner placed second in the Suburban Newspapers Association of America general excellence awards, the highest placing by any Canadian newspaper.
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6290 Main St., Stouffville
Phone: 905-640-2612
The Stouffville Sun-Tribune is published two times a week (Thursday and Saturday) serving the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, It has a circulation of 9,000.
Over the years, the Whitchurch-Stouffville community has been home to many newspapers, some of which are still delivered to our front steps. Other papers weren’t so lucky and faded into obscurity.
Few people know much about Whitchurch-Stouffville’s first newspaper, which appeared in 1842: the Stouffville Ready Pay Advocate. In fact, not many people knew about it then, and that may have been the problem. It was published irregularly, and the owner John Boyer was mostly interested in using the paper to advertise his business.
The Advocate, lacking money for supplies, had to resort to using a printing press that had once belonged to famed Canadian rebel leader, William Lyon McKenzie. It was eventually dismantled and discarded, but that didn’t stop the Advocate from reassembling it.
Over the years, as the newspaper’s ownership passed from hand to hand, it became known as the Stouffville Alert, then the Stouffville Advance. It wasn’t until 1888 that a new owner came up with a formula for success called the Stouffville Tribune.
At this time, small-town Stouffville had four newspapers, but only the Tribune survived. Published every Friday, the paper was available at the very affordable price of $1 per year for a subscription.
When compared to the Tribune, the Stouffville Sun was a relatively young newspaper. It began publishing in 1982 as Stouffville’s first paid-subscription newspaper. It was bought by Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing Ltd. in August 2000. The papers became the Sun-Tribune in early 2003.
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461 The Queensway S., Keswick
Phone: 905-476-7753
The Georgina Advocate is published every Thursday serving the communities of Keswick, Sutton, Pefferlaw and surrounding areas. It has a circulation of 16,000.
The Georgina Advocate is proudly all Georgina, all the time, a traditional community newspaper whose focus is strictly local. As the name implies, the newspaper is an advocate for a community which has a unique rural-urban mix along with a 52 km shoreline on Lake Simcoe.
The Advocate has been serving the people of Georgina, then three communities comprising North Gwillimbury, Sutton and Georgina, since 1961. The inaugural issue was launched on April 6 under the banner Lake Simcoe Advocate.
The Advocate, with W.H. Alton as its first publisher, filled a void left with the closing of the Sutton Reporter, which had been the official voice of the community since the early 1930s.
Alton was succeeded by Harry Stemp and Bill Keyzers who transformed it into a modern publication embracing the best principles of free speech and impartial news coverage.
The name Advocate was adopted in the 1970s to reflect the creation of a united community through amalgamation. The Advocate serves Keswick, Sutton and Pefferlaw, and a host of hamlets around the town.
The Advocate became part of the Metroland chain in 2000 but retained its small town philosophy while being able to utilize the resources of one of the most progressive publishing companies in the world.
Like any good newspaper, The Advocate is a team effort involving the efforts of advertising, editorial and distribution, all key to its continuing success.
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1550 16th Avenue, Richmond Hill
Phone: 905-881-3373
The Liberal is published three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) serving the communities of Richmond Hill and Thornhill, since 1878. It has a circulation of 87,000.
Founded, as an answer to The York Herald, which wore its Tory politics on its sleeve, The Liberal grew throughout the early part of the 20th century as an independently owned, and apolitical, weekly newspaper.
In the 1970s, it was acquired by the Metrospan chain, which became Metroland when the chain merged with Inland Publishing in the early 1980s.
In the late 1980s, the paper grew with the community, adding two more editions and customizing its content for the different local markets.
The editorial staff works to provide relevant and interesting information about local people and events, as well as news that affects York Region.
This work has been recognized by provincial, national and international newspaper awards.
Today the Liberal covers Richmond Hill and Thornhill, with its sister newspaper, the Vaughan Citizen being the newspaper of record in Vaughan.
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8611 Weston Rd., Woodbridge
Phone: 905-264-8703
The Vaughan Citizen is published twice a week (Thursday and Sunday). It has a circulation of 42,000 serving Concord, Kleinburg, Maple and Woodbridge.
Launched in August 2001, the Vaughan Citizen serves the city’s rapidly growing and thriving community. The Citizen works in partnership with the Thornhill Liberal to provide news, community events and shopping information to the entire City of Vaughan.
Until 2000, Vaughan was covered by The Liberal. But the community deserved its own newspaper.
The combination of Vaughan’s bustling business sector and the paper’s award-winning team made the Citizen a success.
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AWARDS

Literally hundreds of awards are testament to our commitment and passion for excellence in editorial and advertising. The awards -- provincial, national and North American in scope -- honour general excellence both in editorial and advertising, as well as the outstanding efforts of individual staff writers and columnists. In addition, yorkregion.com won 3rd place for Website Design in the 2006 CCNA awards, and the Best Idea at the 2006 Suburban Newspapers Association of America interactive conference for its ReUseful initiative. For more see our Press Centre.

We are proud to be the community newspapers of record in York Region. York Region's community newspapers have a history of editorial and advertising excellence.

  • 2006 SNA: yorkregion.com took home four awards, including first place (tie) for Best Real Estate Vertical, 2nd place for Best Community Website, 3rd place for Best Multimedia Initiative (Wheels road test videos), and honourable mention for Pen & Pixel, a creative writing area for the community.
  • 2006 SNA: Liberal reporters took first place for their in-depth growth series, Growing Home. The six-part series explored the impact on our communities of the province’s Places to Grow legislation and York Region’s Vision 2026 plan and the path required for sustainable growth in the future. The award-winning writers are Caroline Grech, Simone Joseph, Patrick Mangion, Michael Power, Chris Traber, Joan Ransberry, Teresa Latchford and Serena Willoughby. A third place award went to the compelling poverty series, Below The Line, by Chris Traber.
  • 2005 SNA: Era-Banner, 1st place general excellence, non-daily newspapers of North America
  • 2004 SNA: 10 awards, including best front page, headlines, columns, young people's coverage, sports writing, community service and new photographs
  • 2003 SNA: Newspaper of the Year/General Excellence awards, 2nd and 3rd, for The Era-Banner and The Liberal
  • 2003 CCNA: 8 awards, including 3 general excellence for The Era-Banner, best coverage of the arts, environmental, business and feature writing
  • 2002 OCNA: 14 OCNA awards, including general excellence, heritage reporting, spot news photo, original ad idea, best feature writing, community service, columnist of the year
  • 2002 CCNA: 10 awards, including best front page, editorial page, arts coverage, feature series, business and environment writing
  • 2001 OCNA: 17 awards, including general excellence, reporter of the year, best editorial, spot news, business story, news story, agricultural story, online edition
  • 2001 CCNA: 5 awards, including general excellence, best editorial page, best front page design [Back to top]

© Copyright 2008
Metroland
Torstar Digital
All content contained in this or any other yorkregion.com website including but not limited to textual, audio, video and any graphics are copyright 2000-2008 Metroland Media Group Ltd. and can not be used in any part without expressed written permission, with the exception of content in the yorkregion.com Pen & Pixel section, which requires the written consent of the authors.