It gives me no pleasure to write this post, but I feel I have no choice because yesterday was a really bad day at VTDigger, starkly showcasing its shortcomings and weaknesses. The word “Digger” seems grossly inappropriate for the product they’re putting out these days. “Surface-Scratcher” is closer to the mark. Now that Digger seems to be regularly running stories about the weather, I might suggest “Vermont’s Friendly Companion,” which has a nice Old Farmers’ Almanac feel to it. Lyman Orton would approve.

First, an extremely curious editorial choice. Digger completely ignored Sen. Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Amanda Janoo, a significant development in the gubernatorial campaign that was covered by yours truly, Seven Days, and Vermont Public, among others.

On the same day, Digger chose to spotlight the sudden departure of Digital Services Secretary Denise Reilly-Hughes in a story that incuriously regurgitated a Scott administration press release about the move. In itself, this would be annoying, not damning. What took it over the top was this little gem:

Reilly-Hughes’ departure comes as several significant IT projects are underway for Scott’s administration including a $70 million overhaul of the state’s human resources and finance systems. 

The link is to an April story about the state “shifting gears” on the $70 million project. A hell of a lot has happened since then (not that Digger has bothered to pursue the story), and all of it has been bad for the administration. This project has gone so far off the rails that a change in ADS leadership comes as no surprise whatsoever.

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