Dear Readers,
Two hundred and fifty years into the American experiment, our democracy still depends on a free press. And a free press depends on people willing to sustain it.
Monday, March 16 is Freedom of Information Day and the start of Sunshine Week. Will you make a donation to VTDigger and help keep nonprofit journalism strong in Vermont?
Freedom of Information Day and Sunshine Week honor the public’s right to access government records. In Vermont, that right is protected under our Public Records Act. Nationally, it is enshrined in the Freedom of Information Act.
At VTDigger, our job is to put that right into action for the public benefit.
Our reporters request and analyze public records every day. Under Vermont law, a public record includes anything produced “in the course of public agency business.” This can include reports, emails, text messages, data and social media posts, whether on government servers or private devices.
For more than 15 years, those records have powered our accountability reporting, from the EB-5 investigation that established VTDigger’s watchdog role, to examinations of police credibility through analysis of prosecutorial Brady letters and our series on lawmakers’ financial disclosures.
Our commitment to your right to know drove our recent reporting on how housing dollars have been spent since the pandemic and violations of internal police policies in the incident that led to the death of a young Rutland City officer.
If the information impacts the public, it’s our job to pursue it. When agencies resist disclosure, we persist and litigate if necessary. This is what it looks like to put the First Amendment into practice.
If you believe public records belong to the public, will you join us with a contribution?
Transparency only works if someone does the digging. I hope you will support this work if you can.
Sincerely,
Sky Barsch
CEO, VTDigger
P.S. You can read about the EB-5 investigation, our work on Brady letters and lawmakers’ financial disclosures, our analysis of housing spending since the pandemic and our reporting on the Rutland officer case. These stories relied on public records and represent the kind of work your support makes possible.
