Dear Reader,
One of the first things I do every morning is sort through reader tips. They arrive in the newsroom through voicemails, emails, encrypted messaging apps and our confidential “send a news tip” form at the bottom of our homepage. That tip drop function alone receives more than 1,600 story ideas a year, and we review every one of them.
We can’t do this work without your support. Our extra-short Summer Member Drive ends on Friday. If you value responsive, rigorous journalism for Vermont, please make a donation to support our news today.
Following reader tips takes time and know-how — phone calls, interviews, public records requests and feet on the street across Vermont’s communities. In other words, it takes hard work from our reporters and editors.
The investment pays off. Just some of our stories born from tips so far this year include:
- The impasse between the nation’s largest health insurance provider and Vermont’s largest health care network, risking thousands of patients’ care;
- The state’s top education official urging a school district to drop its mask mandate — even though the district was following federal guidance;
- How a high school student from St. Albans said her school failed to support her after finding that she was sexually harassed;
- Cannabis growers’ challenges in accessing banking options as the state launches its licensing process;
- Vermont State Police asking local departments to exhaust all possibilities before turning to troopers for help;
- And much more, ranging from building-wide evictions, police misconduct allegations and flooded surgery units, to name a few.
We follow these tips because we know readers rely on us as a first and last line of defense to help shine a light on important issues for Vermont. Now we are asking for your help.
We have only a few days to inspire readers like yourself to become new members. Will you support VTDigger’s fearless, nonprofit journalism by contributing today?
This work isn’t easy or cheap, but we know it’s important to you and your neighbors.
Thank you for reading and supporting VTDigger.
Maggie Cassidy
Deputy managing editor, VTDigger
Become a VTDigger member today
Online: vtdigger.org/donate
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Mail: Make checks payable to VTDigger, 26 State Street, Suite 8, Montpelier, VT 05602
Our Mission
We produce rigorous journalism that explains complex issues, holds the government accountable to the public and engages Vermonters in the democratic process.
VTDigger is a project of the Vermont Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our Tax ID number is 27-1553931