Scott Finn says he wants to use the efficiencies brought about by the recent merger of Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS to reach out to new audiences.
Finn is the CEO of the newly combined operation of the two media organizations, which merged on June 30 under the legal name Vermont Public.
Asked for an example of possible savings, Finn pointed out how the new enterprise will now require just a single audit rather than two separate ones.
Nicole Junas Ravlin, the chair of the new organization’s board, also said the merged organization has no immediate plans to sell physical space.
The new organization is the largest news organization in Vermont, with an annual operating budget of $17.8 million. Forty-two full-time employees came from Vermont PBS and 57 full-time employees came from VPR, Finn said in a phone interview with VTDigger.
It is also a well-funded organization, with a $71.9 million endowment, according to Steve Ferreira, the chief operating officer of Vermont Public. More than $52 million of that came from the 2017 sale of Vermont PBS’s sale to wireless telecommunications companies of its broadcast frequencies from Mount Ascutney in Windsor, which netted $56 million, he said.
Asked if the organization would hire more reporters, Finn was noncommittal.
“Thanks to the amazing generosity of our supporters, we’ve been able to increase the number of reporters, editors, producers and other content creators over the past three years,” Finn said. “Sharing the stories of people in our region, including our in-depth journalism, is key to our future. We hope to be able to continue growing to meet the needs of Vermonters and others in our region.”
Finn underlined one area of greater focus: “We need to do a better job reaching diverse audiences.”
Finn said there would be no layoffs at the new combined operation and declined to comment on whether any employees have been offered buyouts. He said that out of respect for employees, all matters regarding compensation would be kept confidential.
Finn said the organization will conduct a listening tour next spring to find out what Vermont audiences want from the new merged enterprise.
“We need to ask audiences what they want,” Finn said. “We’re going to be learning and listening.”
He said the organization has a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to study audiences, not just current audiences but infrequent listeners and viewers, as well as people who don’t listen and view at all.
“What do mothers between 18 and 35 want from us?” Finn asked. “What are we not doing?”
Finding new audiences could prove to be difficult. Finn said VPR and Vermont PBS already have among the highest per capita listening and viewing of any public radio or television networks in the country.
He said past experiments at joint ventures, such as political debates and the series “This Land,” about the future of rural Vermont, taught executives that collaboration is hard and got them thinking about a merger.
The idea for a merger first came two years ago from a Vermont PBS board member, said Junas Ravlin.
Finn said the new organization will have one newsroom, based at VPR in Colchester. Most employees, he said, will be focused on radio news, but he pointed to the success of children’s programming, such as Chris Dorman’s “Mr. Chris and Friends” on Vermont PBS and Jane Lindholm’s VPR podcast “But Why,” with half a million monthly downloads, as examples of other programming the new organization will continue to offer.
He said some video producers will continue to work out of the Vermont PBS studios in Winooski, “at least for a while.”
The hardest part of the consolidation to figure out was the merging of the two cultures, said Junas Ravlin, with VPR focused on news and classical radio and digital, and Vermont PBS focused on educational content.
“I do think that the merger will result in a more comprehensive news report,” said Stephen Terry, former managing editor of the Rutland Herald and a founding member of the Vermont Journalism Trust Board, which runs VTDigger. “For several years VPR has had a strong reporting culture. Vermont public television, with a few exceptions, has not had a strong news ethic. If the new leaders can merge good solid reporting with good visuals and people having stories come to life more with the power of television, I think that will be a helpful development.”
Junas Ravlin said the merger enables the two organizations to think about how to improve what they offer Vermont audiences.
“How do we turn a radio show into a richer media experience?” Junas Ravlin asked in a phone interview. “Can we turn ‘Brave Little State’ [the VPR podcast] into educational programming with a video component? It’s been used in classrooms across Vermont.”
Junas Ravlin said VPR has worked hard in the last couple of years to work with other media organizations such as VTDigger and Seven Days.
“News organizations shouldn’t necessarily see each other as competitors but as collaborators,” Junas Ravlin said.
Ferreira said Vermont Public will tell more stories outside of Chittenden County, paying attention to underserved communities.
“I’m excited,” Ferreira said in a phone interview. “We’ve done a lot of work to get it to this point.”
