Category Archives: The media

VTDigger Does Phil Scott a Big Fat Photographic Favor

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This is a social media post from VTDigger spotlighting the top story in Friday’s “Final Reading,” about Vermont politicians taking a stand against a U.S. House-passed voter ID bill that would make it harder, especially for women, to register to vote. Great, fine, a nice little space-filler on Friday afternoon.

The photo features Democratic Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas and Republican Gov. Phil Scott. (The photo also sits just below the headline of “Final Reading” itself.) Here’s the problem: Copeland Hanzas is quoted in the article, but Scott does not appear. At all. No quote, not even a passing mention. In fact, not a single Republican is quoted or mentioned, while Democratic U.S. Rep. Becca Balint is quoted and Democratic Attorney General Charity Clark is mentioned.

But you combine the photo with the headline’s reference to “Vermont Leaders” panning the bill, and you come away with the distinct impression that Phil Scott is on board with this effort.

He is not. At least not publicly. But you wouldn’t realize that unless you read the article carefully and kept track of who is actually quoted.

Most people don’t even click the link, they only see the social media post. Of those who do click the link, relatively few pay close enough attention to notice the presence or absence of one “Vermont Leader.”

By using this photo, VTDigger did Phil Scott a big fat favor in terms of bolstering his “moderate” bona fides, a favor he did nothing to earn.

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News You Should View: Echoes of Trump

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At the beginning of every week, I wonder if I’m going to find enough content to fill out this feature. So far, I get more than I can really include. Even in our sadly diminished media ecosystem, there’s still a lot of material worth checking out. And here we go…

“An enormously dangerous moment.” The latest edition of Mark Johnson’s “802 News” podcast is a short but brutally impactful interview with journalist and author Garrett Graff about the Trump administration so far. Graff outlines twin crises unfolding before our eyes: “A quick unraveling of many of the foundations of our smooth and functioning democracy and our smooth and functioning federal government.” Trump is undermining both, and either could lead us “toward a future catastrophe.” It’s well worth the 15 minutes. (Available on your podcast player of choice or via the WCAX-TV website.)

A Trump triple threat. The latest Montpelier Bridge contains not one, not two, but three articles describing the potentially devastating impacts of the Trump regime on the state and local levels. Matthew Thomas writes that Vermont is likely to see a two-thirds cut in flood relief funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fiona Sullivan reports on federal cuts in child care and food aid for schools, and Phil Dodd has what should be a positive story about a plan to convert the Washington County Mental Health Services building in Montpelier into affordable apartments — but the whole plan depends on securing federal grant funds. Extra bonus: WCMHS is also worried about potential federal cuts. This all underscores Garrett Graff’s second big point: “Americans really don’t understand the myriad ways the federal government underpins the safety, security and stability of our daily lives.” Trump fucks around, we find out.

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News You Should View: There’s Some Good Stuff Out There

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Not much of a subtitle, sorry. More of a restatement of this weekly feature’s origin: Our media landscape may be vastly reduced from its former glory days, but there’s still some good stuff being produced that’s worth your time. This week’s haul…

Quite Literally Ripped from the Headlines. You won’t often find a summer theater company cited in this space, but one of the Weston Playhouse’s 2025 offerings is “A Distinct Society,” a new play set in the Haskell Free Library that centers around its unique straddle-the-border location. From the description: “When an Iranian father and his daughter, separated by the international border, start using the library as a meeting place, the denizens of this quiet sanctuary find their lives suddenly full of excitement and consequence.” Presumably the play was written before the recent crackdown at Haskell, but it seems all the more relevant right now. Excitement and consequence indeed. Performances from August 20-31.

Burlington Dems Get Fast and Loose with the Chats. For the second week in a row, Seven Days enters the honor roll for the kind of story that made its reputation: A public records request that uncovered extensive texts among Democratic members of City Council during 2024 meetings, including a lot of chatty, gossipy stuff and more than a few close brushes with open meetings law. The Dems, who have a working majority on Council, would often discuss tactics amongst themselves while taking part in a public meeting. Council President Ben Traverse says texting is “simply part of modern government,” but he also told his fellow Dems to cool their jets after Seven Days filed its public records request. Technically they’re not violating the law because there were only six Democrats on the 12-member Council but Independent Mark Barlow is a Dem in all but name, so if the letter of the law hasn’t been violated, the spirit of the law has gotten a damn good rogering.

Embezzlement in Hardwick? Really now. The Hardwick Gazette reports that a local woman embezzled thousands of dollars from three local nonprofit organizations. The victims included the East Hardwick Fire District (which has been reimbursed by the alleged thief), NEK Arts, and the Hardwick Downtown Partnership. The total involved was less than $20,000 all told, but you might expect that organizations in and around Hardwick would be a bit more careful after the infamous $1.6 million embezzlement case involving the Hardwick Electric Department. It’s been a while, but still. (Discloure: I serve on the board of Northeast Kingdom Public Journalism, which operates the Gazette. But I would have listed this story in any case.)

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News You Should View: The Empire Strikes Back

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The response to this feature’s debut was overwhelmingly positive, so here we are again. For those just joining us, every week I’m scanning the news coverage of Vermont and pointing out a bunch of items that might have escaped your attention. These could be news stories, essays, blogposts, podcasts, videos, or what have you.

This week’s subtitle is a reference to the second installment in a series, but also to a story that might turn out to be dramatically impactful — but has barely been covered by our mainstream outlets. Probably a matter of time before our own domestic empire strikes back.

The Statehouse Transgender Kerfuffle. This story began in the Vermont Daily Chronicle, the extremely conservative outlet for right-wing opinion and news of questionable veracity. A recent VDC story has gained traction in the wider conservative media ecosystem, which could lead to significant implications for our relations with the Trump administration.

And here it is. On Wednesday, March 12, the Vermont Family Alliance, a conservative activist group, tried to hold an event in the Statehouse promoting “detransition,” the allegedly growing phenomenon of people who’ve had gender affirming care subsequently deciding to return to their birth gender. Transgender activists disrupted the event, leading Statehouse officials to call a halt to the proceedings. This story has been relentlessly followed up by the Chronicle and been amplified by Fox News and other outlets as an example of the oppressive left trampling the free speech views of conservatives.

It’s a stupid story but if it filters up to the Trump White House, we might find ourselves in the crosshairs just like Maine Gov. Janet Mills or the University of Pennsylvania. I may be writing a full post about this, but I did want to spotlight it in this forum.

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News You Should View: Possibly a New Regular Feature

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One of my readers had an idea, and I thought I’d try it out. Given Vermont’s sadly diminished and atomized news media, would it be worthwhile to monitor our various news outlets and regularly provide a sampling of worthwhile items that might not have gotten much attention?

I thought about it, and put together a pretty lengthy list of news/commentary outlets in our state. And now I’m giving this thing a test drive. Let me know what you think. In no particular order, here’s a bit of an honor roll of stories from the past week.

Montpelier Council continues to dither over Country Club Road housing. The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports that city officials had hoped to gain “nice, clear direction” from City Council over how to redevelop the former Elks Club property east of town. Those hopes were dashed by a Council who ought to remember the old maxim, “The best is the enemy of the good.” Councilors approved a concept plan to build significant new housing on the site two years ago, but still can’t bring themselves to provide anything like nice, clear direction. And you wonder why we have a housing shortage.

Sewer work to clog downtown Montpelier. The Montpelier Bridge reports that a major improvement on a sewer line will hamper traffic on State Street for the next three months or more, starting on St. Patrick’s Day. Merchants, already suffering through a post-epidemic decline in office occupancy and foot traffic, are “concerned about the potential for economic disruption.” For most of the time, traffic on State between Main and Elm will be westbound only. You have been warned.

Milton housing prices through the roof. The Milton Independent reports that local housing supplies are very tight and prices are skyrocketing. The median home price in Milton has hit the $400,000 mark, which means you’d better be making six figures if you want to buy an average home there. And if you want to rent an apartment, make sure you’ve got a job paying at least $30 an hour. One effect: the school district is dealing with far more homeless children than it used to.

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Seven Days Accepts Conservative Cash to Investigate the Democratic Legislature

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This is a terrible idea.

Seven Days publisher Paula Routly used her latest column to trumpet a new journalistic venture. Or should I say “misadventure”?

The basic concept isn’t a bad one. The paper is hiring a reporter to conduct a series called “Ways and Means” examining how effectively the Vermont Legislature is doing its job. That’s a subject worthy of exploration, although it’s also true that legislative bodies are, by their very nature, clunky and inefficient. You want maximum effectiveness? Get yourself a king or a dictator. And the Vermont Legislature is part-time and has virtually no paid staff, so it lacks the resources to be as effective as it could be.

But that’s not the bad part. The bad part is how the project is being funded. Routly describes the money as coming from “two Vermont philanthropists” who are former politicians “from opposite sides of the aisle.”

Their names? Bruce Lisman and Paul Ralston. Close observers of Vermont politics may already be rolling their eyes.

Lisman is a former Wall Street tycoon and dyed-in-the-wool Republican who once ran against Phil Scott in the Republican primary. He is one of the top Republican donors in the state, a prominent member of the unofficial club I call The Barons of Burlington. He and his buddies did their level best to eliminate the Democratic supermajorities last year.

Ralston, founder and owner of the Vermont Coffee Company, did serve two terms in the House as a Democrat but (1) even during his tenure he was known as a renegade centrist who thought he was the smartest guy in the room and (2) he hasn’t identified with the party since he left the Statehouse in 2015. More recently he has been politically independent and deeply critical of the Democratic Legislature. Details will follow. But let’s get this on the record right now: What we have here is two wealthy men who oppose Democratic politicians and policies, buying a series of reports designed to highlight the Democratic Legislature’s flaws and failures. There will be no corresponding examination of the Republican Scott administration.

Lisman and Ralston won’t have editorial input. But they’ve established the playing field and the terms of engagement. They are buying coverage that will almost certainly favor their political beliefs. Routly’s whitewash doesn’t hide the fact that this deal is a gross violation of journalistic standards and a real shocker coming from what used to be Vermont’s alternative newspaper.

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An Especially Unsettling Spin of a Familiar Revolving Door

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There’s nothing illegal about this. It happens all the time. But this particular instance has a bit of a stench about it.

I’m talking about Sarah Mearhoff’s departure from VTDigger. Mearhoff has been the Statehouse bureau chief for Digger, the lead author of its “Daily Briefing” newsletter and its top political reporter throughout this campaign season. She announced her departure last Friday on the accursed platform once known as Twitter. She did not reveal her next professional destination.

But now we know. Mearhoff is crossing over to the dark side. She’s been hired as director of advocacy and communications for the Associated General Contractors of Vermont.

Chief lobbyist, in other words. For one of the most powerful and connected interest groups in Montpelier. Until December 14, Mearhoff was reporting on the doings of our representatives under the Dome. In less than three weeks, she’ll be trying to influence those same people on behalf of Vermont’s road builders and construction magnates, a.k.a. Phil Scott’s favorite people in the whole world.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you

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I rarely trumpet the “Donate” feature on this blog. The timing rarely seems right, especially in this year of an ongoing — and worsening — crisis of homelessness made worse by Our Betters’ deliberate policy choices. But Giving Tuesday offered an opportunity.

Which I took. And wow, did you ever respond.

Between Giving Tuesday and the day after, my income for the entire year went up by more than 20%.

All I can say is, thank you. Your response is heartening and inspiring.

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See that “Donate” Button?

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As I write this, it’s about to be Giving Tuesday, a time to give to people, causes and entities worthy of your support. I’m not telling you The Vermont Political Observer is worthy; that’s your call. Regular readers are already spending their time and attention here. I’m hoping you will tangibilize (word?) that decision by kicking in a little coin.

Or, as Reverend Ike would prefer, some “quiet money.” Not the noisy stuff, the quiet kind that falls silently into the collection plate.

Donations are gratefully received via the, what a coincidence, “Donate” feature accessible by this link or near the top of this website. You can make a one-time gift or set up a monthly contribution. I like to think I deliver something of value, consistently posting three or four times a week — a very high productivity rate in the blogosphere.

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Scott & Rodgers Bet Big on a Dying Medium

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In the closing weeks of a campaign, candidates and other political actors are required to report mass media expenditures of $500 or more to the Secretary of State within 48 hours. This is designed to publicly expose any large-scale floods of money in a campaign’s closing days. Of course, this depends on somebody in the press paying attention to mass media filings, and so far nobody has. Well, nobody but Your Obedient Serpent.

The most interesting note from recent filings is that Gov. Phil Scott and his ticketmate, Republican LG nominee John Rodgers, filed a total of 17 separate mass media reports on a single day, Monday October 28. Fourteen of them reported major buys of radio ad time, all conducted jointly and with the expenses split evenly between the two campaigns. Two others reported a joint $4,390 TV buy carried out by the Vermont production firm Hen House Media. The 17th filing reported a $2,740 Scott-only TV buy through Hen House which, pardon the pun, is chicken feed for a gubernatorial campaign.

The other 14 reports add up to $36,855 spent on commercial radio. The big winner was VOX AM-FM, which sold an impressive $11,460 in Scott/Rodgers spots on its Burlington-area stations. The rest: $8,000 to the Radio Vermont Group (primarily WDEV), $6,000 to Rutland-based Catamount Radio (105.3 Cat Country, Z97.1 et al), $5,000 to Great Eastern Radio (Frank, Froggy, and the Penguin), $1,006 to Yankee Kingdom Media of Wells River, and $1,000 to Sugar River Radio.

A couple of notes. First, and it pains me to say this as a longtime radio voice, but the medium is dying. I’m old and I worked for decades in radio, and if I don’t listen anymore, then who does? (The only radio I regularly consume is content made available in podcast form.) So why are Scott and Rodgers going so big into radio for their big closing push? It’s a media strategy from a generation ago.

Second, why wait until now? All those ads are going to clutter the airwaves and severely test the patience of those who still listen. Why not start the ads a couple weeks ago?

Third, why is Scott making such an effort to boost Rodgers when the stakes are so much higher in the Legislature?

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