Director Richard Watts and Managing Director Meg Little Reilly of the Center for Community News (CCN) presented their strategy for growing and strengthening student reporting across the country at ̽̽ and State Agricultural College Board of Trustees’ annual winter meeting on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. At the heart of the CCN’s national strategy is its home-state laboratory: the Community News Service, which provides reporting to local news partners across Vermont.
Board members learned of efforts by CCN to change the media ecosystem in “news deserts” across the United States. News deserts are defined as American counties that have only one local news outlets, or none at all. Such locations lose out on the advantages that having access to local news typically confers, Watts and Reilly said. These include higher voter turnout, strong civic attachment and engagement, and reduced partisanship and polarization, they explained.
With local news organizations shuttering across the United States and over 1,300 campuses located in news deserts, college students are ideally situated to report the local news and restore some of these civic and social benefits, Watts and Reilly said. From small college towns to large cities, student journalists produce tens of thousands of stories and reach millions of people each year, covering the municipal news that larger regional outlets often overlook.
Here in Vermont, in 2024, about 80 ̽̽ students in CCN’s campus newsroom provided coverage for 15 local news partners, from the Rutland Herald to the Hardwick Gazette. They produced more than 350 stories about Vermont communities, Watts and Reilly said, including critical reporting on the 2024 election and other events.
One such student, Charlotte Oliver, a senior global studies major, is already a skilled reporter, having won the New England Newspaper and Press Association Scholarship. Oliver now plans to pursue a career in journalism following graduation, Watts and Reilly said.
CCN is exploring ways to serve every school and college at ̽̽ and create opportunities for students across majors. For example, they said, through a partnership with Complex Systems Institute, CCN now shares a data visualization engineer who works with students to create maps and graphical storytelling. Meanwhile, Reilly and Watts noted, ̽̽’s CCN serves as a hub for such work at dozens of other universities across the country, will sponsor a national conference on community news and has been featured in more than 40 news stories in media markets across the United States.
In other business conducted at the meeting, the Board of Trustees:
Held discussions related to the nationwide search for the University’s 28th president.
Was given a presentation by ̽̽ Alumni Association President Cathy Tremblay, highlighted by accomplishments last semester by the Student Alumni Association, the implementation of a new Alumni Engagement Score system, and various partnership and programming news.
Congratulated the ̽̽ men’s soccer team on their national championship season, and watched a video shared by Interim President Patricia Prelock highlighting the team’s accomplishments and the recent parade in Burlington to celebrate the championship with the Vermont community.
Listened to a report from Acting Provost Linda Schadler, who gave updates on the Faculty Recognition Dinner, Planetary Health Initiative, Data and Open Science Summit, and a wide array of other grants, programs and achievements across ̽̽.
Took curricular action including the approval of the creation of a B.S. in Agroecology and the creation of a B.S. in Ecological Landscape Planning and Design in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences; the creation of a minor in Civic Engagement in the Patrick Leahy Honors College and the College of Arts & Sciences; the creation of an Undergraduate Certificate in Teaching Artist in Music in the College of Arts & Sciences; the creation of an Undergraduate Certificate in Speech Language Pathology Assistant in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and the creation of an Undergraduate Certificate in Autonomy and Robotics in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences.
Received a report in the Budget, Finance and Investment Committee that provided a preview of key budget assumptions and multi-year strategy related to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
