Annual Report 2021 – VTDigger Projects

Annual Report | 2021

The mission of the Vermont Journalism Trust is to produce rigorous journalism that explains complex issues, promotes public accountability and fosters democratic and civic engagement.

2021 Impact Highlights

Ben Bergstein and North End Studios

After a month-long investigation, VTDigger’s Katya Schwenk reported that at least eight women — including three former employees — had accused Ben Bergstein of sexual misconduct during his time as president of a major Burlington-area performing arts space. Following numerous discussions, several women agreed to be identified in the April 15 story after deciding that their complaints to various officials had gone unheeded for years. The investigative report, which was built around more than a dozen interviews and documents obtained from city and law enforcement agencies, resulted in some quick action. The North End Studio’s leases in both Burlington and nearby Winooski were terminated in light of the allegations against Bergstein. In addition, he resigned from the Vermont Performing Arts League, which oversees the studio, and his wife also said she planned to step down from her seat on the board. Several months later, Bergstein was arraigned in a case that had not previously been reported but that closely mirrored an alleged sexual assault involving the arts director described in the April VTDigger report. Law enforcement officials indicated that the renewed investigation and eventual prosecution grew out of the original VTDigger story. The former arts center president pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct in a plea deal during the summer of 2022 and received a sentence of six years of probation.

Housing challenges

In late fall 2021, as the cold winter months approached, VTDigger closely reported the heated policy debate in Montpelier around whether to expand eligibility for the state’s emergency hotel housing program, a pandemic-spurred measure that paid for Vermonters without shelter to stay in hotels and motels. Riley Robinson and Mike Dougherty went beyond the Statehouse to hear from the people who would be impacted by the policies. In a story picked up by outlets across the state, they shared tangible examples of the “Bermuda Triangle” of bureaucracy that confronts Vermonters experiencing poverty and homelessness. The program was ultimately extended through March.

Dairy farming

Farming is a Vermont way of life. In 2021, more than two dozen organic dairy farmers in Vermont were devastated to receive letters terminating their contracts with Danon, the parent company of Horizon Organic. The move on Danon’s part affected 28 small- to medium-sized farms in the state, and was part of a broader regional restructuring impacting a total of 79 farms across New England. As farmers, state officials and industry stakeholders met to search for solutions, VTDigger followed the story. Reporter Emma Cotton helped readers understand the context, history and economic policies shaping Vermont’s changing dairy industry. After weeks of tension, Stonyfield Organic announced that they would buy milk from some of the farms dropped by Danon. By spring of 2022, the majority of the farms had been thrown a “lifeboat,” but many remain concerned about the future of Vermont’s beloved dairy farms.

Covid-19

VTDigger’s reporting on the Delta and Omicron Covid-19 waves documented a critical period of the pandemic in Vermont. Officials had wound down key aspects of the state’s Covid response following the success of the spring 2021 vaccination drive. In the process, they resisted many experts and wide swaths of the public, who worried — correctly — that a fall wave of infections could be severe. Throughout the fall and winter, VTDigger published a series of reports that scrutinized the state’s strategy of leaving prevention efforts to individuals and analyzed the consequences of the widespread infections that followed. The organization remained responsive to readers, who continued to press for accurate Covid data analysis and clear public health recommendations in light of the state’s rapidly shifting messaging. The newsroom also responded to readers’ requests to highlight impacts on the state’s education, health care and prison systems. VTDigger provided indispensable information to Vermonters that could not be found elsewhere.

The Vice Principal

Pursuing the truth means ensuring the whole story is told. VTDigger published an investigation into the sexual abuse of two teenage girls in a small Vermont town, and how the community’s deference to a well-liked school administrator allowed it to go unreported. In early 2021, VTDigger health care reporter Katie Jickling was contacted by a young woman with a terrible story to share. By that point, David Barnett had already been fired from his job as vice principal at Randolph Union High School years earlier after police charged him with engaging in a sex act with a minor student. But the case was still slowly working through the court system. And despite widespread media attention on Mr. Barnett following his arrest, the public had never heard the victim’s story as she had experienced it. Rose Earl wanted the public to understand what she had experienced. And she led Katie to an upsetting discovery: One of Ms. Earl’s classmates said she, too, had been groomed and abused by Mr. Barnett when she was a student. Through months of interviews and professional relationship-building with Ms. Earl and her classmate Sam McPhetres, Katie earned their trust. Neither was willing to be named at the outset, but both eventually agreed to be named and photographed because they understood the care that Katie had taken with the story and they trusted that she would get it right. The final report shone a light on the previously unknown experiences of the young women, and raised questions about cultural norms and complicity in a small town.

"A huge thank you to you and the VTDigger Team for all that you do covering stories impacting Vermont and Vermonters. Prior to the pandemic I was not aware of your organization. VTDigger is now my go to source for news. "
-Reader

Areas of Coverage

VTDigger's experienced beat reporters covered the following issues in 2021

Regional

Northwestern Vermont
Northeast Kingdom
Southern Vermont

Sections

Letters to the editor
Press releases
Obituaries
Commentary

“Thanks for digging up and telling stories in a long enough format that gets me thinking, develops my curiosity and got me to go to the website and learn more."
-Reader

Awards and Recognition in 2021

For reporting published in 2020

LION Publishers

Winner of Best Local Election/Voting Coverage and finalist for Investigative Report of the Year.

“This is what careful planning and cultivating reader trust looks like. VTDigger’s longtime relationship with its audience and continued fulfillment of its editorial mission has resulted in election coverage to which all organizations, no matter the size, should aspire.”

- LION Judges’ comment for Best Local Election/Voting Coverage

The New England Newspaper and Press Association

A dozen awards — including five first-place finishes, for investigative reporting, photography and the use of social media in breaking news.

“A superb piece of reporting that raised serious red flags about the potential dangers of a militia training site in Vermont. The reporting was strong enough to force state officials to take action. Bravo.”

- NENPA Judge’s comment for Investigative/Enterprise Reporting first place winner, Slate Ridge by Emma Cotton

"Every day, VT Digger provides timely, relevant news in a clear, accessible format to all Vermonters."
-Reader

Community and Events

Member Drives

VTDigger partnered with the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) during our Spring Member Drive to send one book to a Vermont child for each member donation we received. Our members sent 3,000 books to future news readers across the state. In the winter, we partnered once again with the Vermont Foodbank, and our members sent 40,000 meals to Vermonters facing food insecurity. We are deeply grateful for our members without whose support we would not be able to produce our public service journalism and we thank our partners for the incredible work they do for Vermonters every single day.

Community Listening

In 2021, VTDigger undertook a community listening project to help better understand regional news needs in Northwestern Vermont. We had a newly doubled pandemic audience with heightened information needs, new appreciation for the power of responsive journalism and an opportunity to build out regional reporting in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties. In total, the listening project incorporated the voices of 540 Vermonters. That included 154 individuals who participated in one-on-one interviews and 386 people from Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties who completed the online survey. The project resulted in a final report and the creation of ambitious yet achievable goals aimed at responding to community news needs in the region.

Local Live(s)

VTDigger partnered with Back Pocket Media to produce two live community events in 2021. The Local Live(s) events featured our reporters alongside community members and musicians. Audience members joined us virtually and in-person for an eve of live storytelling that pulled back the curtain on the journalistic process and built trust in local news.

Audience By Numbers

Monthly Average 2021

2,404,913

Pageviews

675,366

Site Users

105,605

Social Followers

45,265

Newsletter Subscribers

9,917

Members

573,254

Podcast Listens

1,643

Confidential Tips

Financials

VTDigger 2021 Revenue

VTDigger 2021 Expenses

2021 Workforce Demographics

Gender

News and Editorial Staff

News and Editorial Management

Race and ethnicity

News and Editorial Staff

News and Editorial Management

Thank You

2021 Donor List

2021 Underwriters

Achieving our mission depends upon the generosity of donors, and we’re incredibly grateful for the thousands of individuals, foundations and businesses who support our work.

We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and all sources of revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. Each year, we publish a full list of donors and supporters, with all who gave a total of $5,000 or more in a given year separately listed. We accept anonymous donations for general support only.

Support Independent Journalism in Vermont

Donate Now

< Go back to VTDigger.org