annualreport.vpr.netCommunity Impact Report | Vermont Public Radio

PRESIDENT’S NOTE OUR REACH OUR IMPACT AWARDS FINANCIALS BOARD STAFF SUPPORTERS Menu PRESIDENT’S NOTE OUR REACH OUR IMPACT AWARDS FINANCIALS BOARD STAFF SUPPORTERS Community Impact Report COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT 2018 VPR is the best. You make us think. You make us care. You remind us that we are all one community.” ~ Jeanie L. and Don C. President’s Note Dear Friends, It’s been a big year for change in our country and Vermont — and for me as well. We experienced one of the most tumultuous and consequential midterm elections in recent history. The Me Too movement went global. Concerns over data and privacy reached a fever pitch. Across the country and here in Vermont, we wrestled with issues and effects of race and racism, gun violence and climate change. Here at VPR, we were reminded that what we offer to our community is unique and essential. The unrelenting news of our time fuels our dedication to provide independent, fact-based journalism while delivering music that creates emotional space for us to reflect and process the realities of our time. And we saw that value reflected in our reach: VPR had 223,900 weekly listeners to our broadcast stations in 2018*, and we saw record support from our members and business underwriters (thank you!). That’s good, because there’s more of a need for quality journalism than ever before. Over the past 20 years, the number of journalists in Vermont has dropped by almost half. Meanwhile, VPR has increased its news staff from just three to 21 journalists today. On our Tell Me More Tour last summer and fall, we met more than 700 people all across the state. In Rutland, we met a woman who couldn’t afford satellite TV or a newspaper subscription. She told us that VPR served as her link to her community, and helped make her new home feel like a real home. That’s how my family feels about VPR. Before we moved here, I listened to But Why? with my son. My wife and I depend on Brave Little State to answer our questions about Vermont. My teenage daughter usually does not listen to public radio. But on the way home from school one afternoon, we listened to our podcast JOLTED about the averted school shooting in Fair Haven. She was riveted. She even had her first driveway moment. At its core, VPR is a public service institution. We are here not to tell you what to think or like, but to provide you with what you need to make informed choices in your life. We do it out of love for our community and a desire to see Vermonters thrive. Your support makes it all possible. So thank you. Thank you for building this great station, and for challenging us to do even more for Vermont and our region. And thank you for making this new place feel like home. Gratefully, Scott Finn VPR President & CEO *Nielsen Audio Fall 2018 National Regional Database, Persons 12+ M-Su 6a-12m I’m one of those Vermont kids who felt tormented in the back seat of the car growing up by my parents constantly listening to VPR. Now it’s come full circle, and decades later I’m the one tormenting my own children who groan when I turn the station back to VPR, but who listen curiously nevertheless. Your stories have sparked countless conversations and questions in our family about the world we live in and how to engage in our community in healthy, productive, meaningful ways. Thank you.” ~ Jena, Underhill Vision Exploring The Whole Vermont Story, Together. Mission VPR is an essential and trusted independent voice for news, information, music and cultural exploration for the people of our region. Purpose To inspire an informed public and an engaged community. WHO WE REACH Weekly Broadcast Listeners 223,900* * Source: Nielsen Audio Fall 2018 National Regional Database, Persons 12+ M-Su 6a-12m Broadcast Stations 27 Population Reached via VPR Stations 1.76 Million* * In the U.S. Unique monthly website & mobile app visitors 202,496 Monthly Stream Listeners 147,021 Social Media Followers 105,034 Monthly Podcast Downloads 476,571 VPR Events 34 OUR IMPACT VPR is the only station I listen to during my thirty minute commute to and from the school where I teach every day and I use the fact checked, up to date information to supplement my teaching of current events to elementary students. I trust VPR’s integrity, neutrality, and professionalism and I would not risk the learning of my ten year olds if I did not.” ~ Dawn, Jericho NEW LEADERSHIP In May, Scott Finn joined VPR as President & CEO after Robin Turnau stepped down from the role after a 29-year career at VPR, including the last nine years as president & CEO. TELL ME MORE TOUR You listen to us, so we should make a special effort to listen to you. That was the idea behind VPR’s Tell Me More Tour , to travel the state with no agenda — just a determination to listen to whatever you have to say. Over four months in 2018, we met more than 700 people at events in every county of the state. Nearly the entire VPR staff attended at least one event, where we asked three questions: What’s special about where you live? What issues are important to you? And how can VPR can serve you better? While every event was unique, as we reported out on what we learned we were surprised at how many themes resonated across the state. The tour is helping us shape our work into 2019 and beyond, and we’re working to continue the listening beyond the tour, and make it something we incorporate into our daily lives. RAY VEGA JOINS FRIDAY NIGHT JAZZ In May, trumpeter, percussionist, composer, arranger and educator Ray Vega joined VPR as the new host of Friday Night Jazz . He’s a senior lecturer at The University of Vermont and currently performs with The Ray Vega Latin Jazz Sextet, The Ray Vega Quartet and The New York Latin Jazz All-Stars. In September, VPR hosted a raucous Friday Night Jazz Pledge Party . Ray performed live at VPR with his Latin Jazz Sextet, with host Jane Lindholm and a live audience. The special broadcast was part of our September membership drive. What can we learn from a school shooting that never happened? That was the question VPR set out to explore in JOLTED , is a five-part podcast about what happens when a young man plans a school shooting, but gets caught before he shoots anyone. It’s about the line between thought and crime. And, it’s about a Republican governor, in a rural state, who changed his mind about gun laws. We believed an averted school shooting was an opportunity to deeply examine not only the conditions that can lead to school shootings, but more importantly, the conditions that help prevent them. I’m a middle school teacher and I used to play a story in a unit for my students off of VPR that was an interview … about the bullying and suicide.” VPR released the five-part podcast over the course of a month, and it garnered hundreds of thousands of listeners across the country. Vermonters also heard all five episodes on All Things Considered. JOLTED helped our community more deeply understand the jarring events of early 2018 and how they led to a major shift in Vermont laws. We believe our storytelling helped them understand both what leads to school violence, and how to prevent it. We heard about the impact of our work from listeners in Vermont and elsewhere: I am a 2012 graduate of Fair Haven Union High School and also have a parent that works in a school in the same district,” wrote a listener who grew up near Fair Haven. It’s been a long, confusing and scary year for our community. JOLTED presented important information, and provided some closure for me personally.” Listeners also got an up-close view of the scarcity of mental health services facing rural families. A psychiatrist noted JOLTED helped her understand how she personally could play a role in preventing school shootings. She said she recognized in Sawyer an ordinary boy with depression and anxiety in a family/community without the resources to reach him.” High school and college educators have also used it to spark debate in...