Hitting Home: How the Recession is Affecting Vermont

A lot of people were surprised last fall at how swiftly the economy turned. By midwinter, it was clear this was going to be a deep recession that would affect people across the economic spectrum.

VPR News had been telling the story all along. But by the first of the year, it was clear that a larger project was warranted to capture the enormity of the steep decline. And so we organized a series of stories that examined the situation through personal stories.

We found factory workers, farmers, retirees, shopkeepers, auto dealers, a homeless family, and the experts who were trying to help them. It pretty quickly became clear that there was a common theme among all of the stories: The economic downturn was hitting home for all of them. That seemed to sum up the series for us, and so we dubbed our ongoing stories “Hitting Home.”

Here we are six months later and there’s a sense that maybe things aren’t as bad as everyone had predicted. So we decided to revisit some of the people we talked to in February and update their stories. We're doing that on Mondays all this month as we continue with our Hitting Home stories.

In coming weeks, we’ll visit the Northeast Kingdom to examine what happens when the largest employer in a region drastically cuts back. We’ll look in on the banking industry to find out whether it can help power an economic recovery. And we’ll even check out the business of weddings for an idea of how a small but lucrative part of the region’s economy is faring.

I hope you'll tune in and share your own stories as well. You can learn more online here.

The Voices of the Recession: Your Pledge at Work

The idea seemed simple enough when it was suggested by John Van Hoesen, VPR's Vice-President for News and Programming: tell the story of the recession through the voices of some of the people affected.

About two months after the idea first hatched, we aired Hitting Home. It was a series that mushroomed into 14 different stories, interviews, commentaries and Vermont Edition subjects.

We heard some poignant stories.

John Dillon introduced us to a recently laid-off state worker. Charlotte Albright tracked down a software developer who decided to launch his own musical instrument repair business in the Northeast Kingdom after being laid off. And Lynne McCrea told the heart-wrenching story of Meghan Cline, a homeless mother, and her fruitless search for an apartment. It wasn’t all bad news, either. We also heard from a couple of businesses in Burlington that are expanding.

A series like this takes time and people. There were at least a dozen VPR staffers involved in putting together the series, including reporters, producers, editors and audio engineers.

Take a listen to all of their work. The series is compiled online here. Thank you for making this kind of in-depth, poignant storytelling possible.

Ross Sneyd
News Editor
Vermont Public Radio

Greetings from Robin Turnau

It is my first week as President of Vermont Public Radio, and I couldn't be more excited. I don't think there exists a finer station in all of public radio. I'm incredibly proud of all we've accomplished in the past and it is an honor to be leading Vermont Public Radio into the future.

I am taking the helm during a rather difficult time for nonprofit organizations, and VPR is not immune from the economic challenges we are all facing. As a result of a significant decline in underwriting and investment revenue, we've revised our budget downward by nearly $800,000. We've acted quickly to reduce expenses, and maintaining our service to listeners is our number one priority. I want to assure you that we're doing it in a way that will protect programming as much as possible. You can learn more about our economic strategy at our website.

My goal for the coming year is to strengthen our service to the communities we serve. Despite the economy - and in fact, because of the economy - our 160,000 listeners are depending on VPR and VPR Classical now more than ever to help them make sense of a complex world and connect to one another during uncertain times.

To all of our members and underwriters, I thank you for your commitment to Vermont Public Radio. Your loyalty and support is what makes me so confident that we'll be able to weather this storm. If you have thoughts or ideas to share, I hope you will get in touch.

Robin Turnau
President & CEO

NPR Cuts Jobs and Programs; VPR's Financial Picture

It’s clear that public radio is not immune from the economic downturn…NPR announced a major cutback this week, reducing its workforce by 7%, through a layoff of 64 employees due to the weakening economy. It’s also cancelling two programs: Day to Day, and News and Notes.

Day to Day is broadcast on VPR weekdays from 2-3 p.m. Although the program won't end for a few months, we’ll start a process of looking for a replacement in our news lineup that provides the same level of national and global perspective during those hours.

The layoffs at NPR came because of a decline in national underwriting revenue and foundation support that makes up about a third of NPR’s $158 million budget. Member station fees make up about half of NPR’s revenues. Here is a link to NPR’s press release, and a story by NPR’s David Folkenflik on All Things Considered.

And the economy has affected VPR as well. We ended the 2008 fiscal year on budget, and had a very successful fundraiser in October to begin FY 2009. But there have been some warning signs: the average membership pledge during the last drive was less than in previous years. And for the first time in a decade, revenue from business underwriting declined by about 4%. Three months into our fiscal year, those same trends appear to be continuing. As a result, we’ve revised our revenue projections downward by more than $400,000.

We’re looking carefully at all areas of VPR’s budget to make up for the projected shortfall. I’ve put a hold on any vacant full and part-time positions, and everyone is looking at other ways we can reduce expenses this year.

No one knows how much worse the economy will get, but I think VPR is in relatively good shape to weather this storm. We have strong programming, a talented staff, and lots and lots of loyal listeners across this region. We know you’re counting on VPR and NPR to keep you informed about the economy and all the news of the world. I want to assure you that we will continue doing just that, while being prudent and creative with our resources.

Mark Vogelzang
VPR President