Editor’s note: This commentary is by Don Peterson, who lives in Lowell.
[I]t’s an unlikely name, VTDigger. Before it came online, news in Vermont was a one-way street. You could read about Vermont events of the day, but that was about as far as it went. Civil discourse amongst ordinary citizens in a public forum, where posters were obliged to put their names to their opinions was not the norm. Where commentary was available, most posters hid behind a pseudonym, and as a result, the trolls took over. Nothing useful comes of anonymity, at least in a political context.
But Digger has different rules — you have to be a real person, with a real name, to have a voice. And ad hominem attacks on others are censored out. What emerges from these few rules is a snapshot of how regular people in Vermont — not paid consultants, journalists or other stakeholders in the general debate — but real people think about how they are being governed.
This is democracy in the 21st century, and it makes compelling content and is inspiring to witness.
This is a great state — there are so few of us here. It’s like that old NYC joke — there are fewer people in my whole town than in your apartment building. You can count on one hand the statewide news outlets available, and mostly they just parrot each other after reading the AP wire. This is a classic echo chamber environment, with leaders braying about their accomplishments, news organs repeating the story by reading each other’s articles, and readers giving up in disgust and turning to stories about Pete the Moose.
With so little variety, politicians don’t have a lot of places to get the pulse of the state. As a result, decision makers read VTDigger.org. They read the news articles, which are unique and excellent, and they read the commentary, which is sometimes profound, often surprising, and always interesting.
Commentaries to VTDigger have “moved the needle” on a variety of topics, many times to the dismay of the powerful and the well connected. This is democracy in the 21st century, and it makes compelling content and is inspiring to witness.
And it costs money I suspect.
For myself, I contribute yearly — not much, but what I can afford. Here’s hoping others will join in. I never want VTDigger to have to rely on support from people who don’t love Vermont more than they love themselves. Once a year, send these people what you spend on dinner out — VTDigger is a feast in itself, and no pandering to Pete the Moose. An especial thanks for that.
