Today I started a recurring monthly donation to VTDigger. We need strong independent media now more than ever. I actually thought we were already recurring donors, but I couldn’t find any sign of such activity in recent bank statements. Anyway, on the day where I posted a piece with some bad stuff about Digger, I wanted to make sure I was on board as a supporter of this vital enterprise. As I wrote earlier, I hate to imagine what our media ecosystem would be like if Digger didn’t exist.
Last week, VTDigger announced a handful of “key hires and promotions.” Which sounds like progress, but these kinds of stories never mention that income also means outgo. Some people either left or were let go. It’s a familiar tale at Digger. But before I get to that, a necessary caveat.
VTDigger is a remarkable success story, and an absolutely indispensable outlet for news about Vermont policy and politics. Journalism jobs in Vermont have plummeted by more than 75% in the last quarter-century. With the demise of enterprises like the capital bureaus of the Burlington Free Press and the Times Argus/Rutland Herald, the near-demise of the Associated Press’ Vermont bureau, and the partial withdrawals of Vermont Public and Seven Days, VTDigger is the only outlet providing daily coverage of the Statehouse and state government. If you’re interested in Vermont news, you should be tossing ’em a few shekels as your resources allow.
That said, the organization is not without its flaws, and its financial future is not exactly secure. A July 2024 story in Seven Days reported that Digger’s corporate parent, the Vermont Journalism Trust, had lost a combined $1.7 million in the preceding two years, which led to staffing cuts and pressure to find even more savings. Its finances largely depend on reader support, which is still not a proven strategy in this brave new shrunken industry. A three-year, $900,000 grant from the American Journalism Trust was supposed to give Digger the resources to fully develop its business and fundraising operations. The grant award coincided with the onset of the Covid epidemic, which surely had a substantial effect on VJT’s development plans. But now the money is gone and financial development remains very much a work in progress.
The title of this weekly feature is never entirely accurate, since I often include audio content that you really can’t “view.”. But I’m amending the title this week because we have a really great audio piece in the leadoff spot. And, for those monitoring their Trump-related consumption, you’ll find a relatively moderate number of stories about That Manbaby in the White House.
A day in the life. From Vermont Public, a tremendous 20-minute audio documentary about a rare animal in modern times: the do-it-all rural primary care doctor. Producer Anna Van Dine’s voice only appears at the beginning and the end. In between, your narrator is the documentary’s subject: Dr. Bob Primeau, the only primary care doc in the Northeast Kingdom town of Island Pond. This must have taken a ton of time and effort, but it gives you a real sense of what it’s like to be a doctor, and a patient, in rural Vermont.
Also what it’s like to be a cog in a machine. “These days, it feels like the health care system has begun to disregard the most essential part of what it means to be a doctor,” Primeau says, citing ever-more-stringent demands for data entry that takes time away from stuff like talking to your patients. I spent many years working in public radio (never in Vermont), and the opportunity to produce this kind of content is what made the job so challenging and so rewarding.
Vermont’s health care system, teetering on the brink. VTDigger and Seven Days each delivered vital stories about financial troubles in our health care system. They spotlight different aspects of an issue, which is the kind of coverage we’ve largely lost in our teeny-tiny media ecosystem. We used to get a lot more of this when there were several strong outlets competing with each other, and we rarely get it anymore. Digger’s Peter D’Auria focused on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, which (a) insures roughly one-third of all Vermonters, (b) is the only in-state health insurer, and (c) has spent most of its financial reserves to cover a surge in claims.
Today we renewed our subscription to Consumer Reports, which had lapsed a few months ago. Considering that Trump is trying to drag us back to the days before the federal government even tried to regulate the safety and reliability of consumer products and services, CR may soon become as vital a watchdog as it was back in its early days.
A small thing today. We raided our pantry and set out a bag of nonperishable food items next to our mailbox for the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive. With our food banks facing high demand plus the effect of federal cuts to food assistance programs, it seemed like a good, if small, thing to do.
Pretty obvious move today. We made a donation to the brand-new Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund, launched on Thursday by a group of prominent political figures. Mostly Democrats, but Thom Lauzon, the mayor of Barre and longtime Friend of Phil, is on the “Team,” as is former Republican lawmaker turned lobbyist Patti Komline.
Oh, heck, here’s the whole list, in the order they appear on the VILDF website.
Road trip! Today I attended an afternoon rally outside the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction. About 100 people gathered outside the gates; you’re seeing about two-thirds of ’em in this picture. Some were across the road from the entrance, including me.
The planned decimation of the VA system is one of the more shameful acts of Cadet Bone Spurs, and that’s saying quite a lot. He may fetishize the military, he may propose a massive increase in Defense Department spending, but he wants to slash health care for our veterans? And he’s installed a former Congressman as head of the VA who can’t seem to talk his way out of a paper bag when it comes to defending the cuts. The primary purpose of today’s rally was to show support for VAMC workers, who are facing about a 20% chance of losing their jobs. And those still employed will be forced to work that much harder to try to make up for the staff cutbacks.
The VA system is a promise we make to those who put their lives on the line in our defense. Whether the conflicts they served in were principled or predatory, we should not fail to do whatever is necessary to care for the well-being of our veterans.
Charity Clark is in a unique position. At a time when our democracy and our system of government are under threat from The World’s Biggest Golf Cheat, she is Vermont’s chief legal advocate. More so than, say, our other Democratic statewides, she has the authority to take action. And the responsibility.
So far, she has followed the Bill Sorrell playbook: Signing on to 13 lawsuits against the Trump administration filed by coalitions of Democratic attorneys general. She also gave a nice speech at Saturday’s lawyers’ rally in Burlington. (In which she oddly referred to the rule of law and the separation of powers as “kind of one of our major brands” as if the Constitution is a consumer product.) That’s all fine, but it’s kind of the least she could do.
Stepping forward on her own would take some courage, but would also be the smartest political move she could make. Setting aside right and wrong for just a moment and focusing on the politics, which is after all the remit of this popstand, Clark is one of a number of top-tier Democrats presumed to be angling for higher office. But she appears to lag behind Treasurer Mike Pieciak (but then, don’t we all?) in terms of profile, connections, and fundraising prowess. If she wants to run for governor or the next Congressional opening, she’ll need to raise her public profile and differentiate herself from a potential swarm of primary candidates.
The best way for her to do that — and also, ahem, do the right thing — is to find ways to lead the fight against Trump. Even purely symbolic moves would help.
Today I wrote an email to U.S. Rep. Becca Balint thanking her for introducing a bill to protect the health care rights of transgender people. She introduced the Transgender Health Care Access Act a while ago and it’s not going to get anywhere in a Republican Congress, but her public advocacy is important — and encouraging — when trans folk are under attack from their own damn government. And it’s important to let our elected representatives know when they’re fighting the good fight.
The Vermont Political Observer. 