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Celebrating Five Years of Investigative Journalism in Vermont

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Celebrating Five Years of Investigative Journalism in Vermont Vermont’s online nonprofit news daily 2014 Annual Report Celebrating Five Years Of Investigative Journalism In Vermont 3,587 ARTICLES 33,383 READER COMMENTS 4,929,491 PAGE VIEWS 116,500 UNIQUE MONTHLY VISITORS INFORMATION IS POWER VTDigger is a nonprofit online news daily dedicated to public- service journalism. We cover Vermont politics, consumer affairs, business, education, energy, the environment and other matters of public concern. Our objective is to publish news that makes complex public issues accessible, holds government accountable and gives readers opportunities to become educated and engaged participants in their governing institutions. Who Owns VTDigger? Founded in 2009, VTDigger is a project of the Vermont Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. VTDigger is supported by foundation grants, business underwriting, and individual contributions from members. News Stories by Category Business & Economy 2012 Courts & Corrections Commentary Education Energy 2013 Health Care News Briefs People & Places 2014 Politics Environment 1,000 2,000 3,000 97 State St. Montpelier, VT 05602 VTDigger.org 802.225.6224 From the Executive Director 2014 VTDigger is filling a critical gap in Highlights the changing landscape of Vermont journalism. DONATIONS At a time when daily newspapers in (members): 76% Vermont continue to experience declines in revenue, forcing staff reductions and increase limiting coverage of public policy and politics, VTDigger continues to see its readership grow. UNDERWRITERS Our mission is to provide free, accessible (advertisers): news reporting that holds government accountable and to offer a platform that broadens the scope of civic debate in Vermont. 45% increase In 2014 we saw a 35% increase in site traffic to over 116,000 unique visitors each month, up from 86,000 each month last year. We attribute our growth to several factors: the quality of our news READERSHIP: reporting, the fact that it is freely accessible without paywalls or subscriptions, and the disruptive impact of the internet. As 35% coverage in traditional media declines, we’ve learned that citizens increase want to know about the inner workings of state government. As a nonprofit online news daily, we’re also forging an entirely different business model, while providing an essential public PUBLISHED service to our readers. Our work is made possible from the STORIES: tremendous support we receive from individual donors, 38% underwriters, and foundations. increase Thank you for your support of our mission and our work. READER COMMENTS: 41% 2014 Staff and Interns increase Executive Director & Editor: Anne Galloway Publisher: Diane Zeigler DAILY DIGGER: Associate Publisher: Phayvanh Luekhamhan Assignment Editor: Tom Brown (email list 122% Copy Editors: Cate Chant, Joanna May subscribers): Reporters: John Herrick, Laura Krantz, Hilary Niles, increase Morgan True Interns: Anna Abrams, George Aldrich, Cory Dawson, Aly Furber, Katie Jickling, Isabelle Monticolombi, Alex Stetter 97 State St. Montpelier, VT 05602 VTDigger.org 802.225.6224 Vermont Journalism Trust BOARD OF DIRECTORS VTDigger is a project of the Vermont Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting investigative journalism in Vermont. Kevin Ellis Anne Galloway Don Hooper Curtis Ingham Koren East Montpelier East Hardwick Brookfield Brookfield Mark Johnson Crea Lintilhac Neale Lunderville David Mindich Burlington Shelburne Burlington Burlington Lauren Moye Carol Ode Bill Porter Carin Pratt Mathew Rubin Montpelier Burlington Adamant Strafford Montpelier Bill Schubart Ina Smith Johnson Frances Stoddard Stephen Terry Hinesburg Poultney Williston Middlebury 97 State St. Montpelier, VT 05602 VTDigger.org 802.225.6224 2014 Most Popular News Stories Our Media Partners VT First State To Call For Constitutional VTDigger distributes stories to the Convention To Get Money Out Of Politics following media outlets, which are a critical component of our revenue model. 58,683 page views, 86 comments Addison Independent Zuckerman Introduces Marijuana Bennington Banner Legislation Bill Berkshire Eagle Brattleboro Reformer 19,450 page views, 34 comments Colchester Sun County Courier Exclusive: Jay Peak Loses Trust Of First Essex Reporter EB-5 Investors Manchester Journal Mountain Times 17,146 page views, 49 comments St. Albans Messenger Stowe Reporter St. Johnsbury Toddler Death Third In 3 Valley News Months Involving DCF Contact Vermont Business Magazine 12,313 page views, 22 comments Waterbury Record WDEV Radio Single Payer Financing Likely To Start With 8 Percent Payroll Tax 11,998 page views, 260 comments VT Law School Professor Cheryl Hannah Dies at 48 10,654 page views, 6 comments Vaccinated Kids Account For 90 Percent of Whooping Cough Cases in VT 8,616 page views, 118 comments What You Need To Know About The Hands-Free Cellphone Law 7,839 page views, 7 comments Nonprofit, Analyst, Economist Weigh Potential of Non-Partisan News IBM Sale to GlobalFoundries VTDigger does not promote or 7,804 page views, 7 comments support any political ideology. Community Fears History Will Repeat Our objective is to hold public Itself at Q Burke Mountain officials accountable and to help readers understand what’s really 7,779 page views, 6 comments going on in state government. 97 State St. Montpelier, VT 05602 VTDigger.org 802.225.6224 Top 2014 Investigative Stories A SENSE OF BETRAYAL: EB-5 Investors Go Public by Anne Galloway A group of EB-5 investors says they are growing increasingly frustrated with Northeast Kingdom developer Bill Stenger and are speaking out publicly for the first time. The group of 20 investors in the SPECIAL REPORT - Tram Haus development at Jay What Went Wrong With Peak Resort, question whether The State’s Health Care Stenger had the right to change Exchange, And Why the terms of their original by Morgan True investment and whether the new financial deal imposed by Jay Peak is as good. They also claim Stenger has The dysfunctional Vermont Health Connect withheld financial information they say they are entitled to under state website has burned up some of the Shumlin law and that state officials are not doing enough to protect their interests. administration’s political capital and could Read the full story at: jeopardize millions in ongoing federal http://vtdigger.org/2014/10/22/sense-betrayal-eb-5-investors-go- funding for health care in Vermont. public/ “We knew from the beginning that it would be a really big and complex project and that BURLINGTON COLLEGE the date given by the federal timeline of In Fight For Survival Oct. 1 was a pretty big stretch,” said Lindsey Tucker, the lead project manager for Vermont by Laura Krantz Health Connect. The fate of Burlington College remains uncertain. The school is running But Tucker said she was confident the state on fumes as it attempts to strike could deliver. a deal with real estate developer Eric Farrell, who wants to build 20 That optimism, reflected in rosy scenarios private homes and 500 housing painted by the governor and Mark Larson, the units on a large portion of the commissioner of the Department of Vermont 32-acre property located on Lake Health Access, has been characteristic of Champlain. what one person familiar with the planning process, who spoke with VTDigger on While proponents say the deal with condition of anonymity, described as “a lack Farrell will eliminate much of the of realism.” college’s debt and potentially save the school, critics believe cash from the land deal won’t be enough to bring Burlington College back into solvency. Read the full story at: http://vtdigger.org/2014/03/16/special- Read the full story at: report-went-wrong-states-health-care- http://vtdigger.org/2014/08/28/increased-enrollment-way-save-burl- exchange/ ington-college-president-says/ 97 State St. Montpelier, VT 05602 VTDigger.org 802.225.6224 Top 2014 Investigative Stories SPECIAL REPORT: State and Entergy Remain At Odds by John Herrick The Shumlin administration declared victory in December when Entergy agreed to dismantle the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in as few as 15 years, but the settlement did not address the most pressing question at hand: How will the HALFWAY HOTELS - company pay to tear it down? Vermont’s Quick Fix For Even if the state does leverage Homelessness the power it has to return the site to greenfields as soon as safely Laura Krantz and Cory Dawson report possible, questions linger over the true cost to decommission the plant. on the Department of Children and Families’ practice of using housing vouchers “Our concern is that they haven’t provided a realistic estimate of what for Vermont’s homeless , which often those costs would be,” said Chris Campany, executive director of the places families in unsanitary and unsafe Windham Regional Commission. Read the full story at: circumstances: http://vtdigger.org/2014/03/02/special-report-dismantling-vermont- yankee/ You check into your motel, plop down and the bed crinkles. You pull back a cigarette- SPECIAL REPORT: burned bedspread, threadbare sheets, and Wind’s Role In VT’s Energy Future find a bed-bug infested mattress wrapped in plastic and duct tape. by John Herrick The carpet smells like dog urine. From The appetite for building wind projects in Vermont has tapered off in across the parking lot, other guests stare. recent years. And you may have to live in this room for Wind opponents say Vermont’s 28 days. ridgelines — where all the state’s utility-scale projects are located This is the story of Sara Bowen and her — are ecologically sensitive areas family’s first journey into homelessness, threatened by such development. which began with 10 days in the shabby Critics also cite the health and Budget Inn in Barre last month. aesthetic impacts of windmills. And it is the story of thousands of homeless But Gov. Peter Shumlin has made Vermonters that the Department for it clear that his administration Children and Families houses each year in wants to fight climate change motels from Newport to Brattleboro.
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