As a publisher, I kept my distance from this week's cover story. That's because I'm in it.

The assignment was awkward, as well, for the two staffers who wrote "Breaking News," which takes the pulse of Vermont's local news outlets. For the same reason a surgeon would avoid operating on a relative, reporters aren't often keen on covering the media ecosystem in which they work.

Related Vermont's Local News Publishers Are Endangered. Can They Be Saved?

Vermont's Local News Publishers Are Endangered. Can They Be Saved?

By Colin Flanders and Kevin McCallum

Media

Their reluctance is understandable: It's hard to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest when reporting on a competitor — who also happens to be a potential future employer.

But if we, the local media, don't report on ourselves, who will? It's ironic that a profession that exists to inform has neglected to tell its own story. If people don't understand why journalism is important, they aren't likely to care enough to save it.

That's one reason I write this column every week. It's also why our news editor asked reporter Colin Flanders to attend the recent Vermont Journalism Conference, in which I participated as a panelist. The takeaway: While Vermont is in better shape than most states when it comes to local news coverage, it has lost scores of journalists — remember how many used to cover the Statehouse? — and advertising is no longer a reliable revenue source for many publishers. Outlets from Brattleboro to St. Albans, nonprofit and for-profit, are looking to readers, philanthropists and foundations — and potentially, the Vermont legislature — to help them stay afloat.

We thought you'd want to know.

The rate at which local news outlets are shuttering across the country is so alarming, the philanthropic world is rushing in to help. The crisis has already spawned a number of organizations charged with saving U.S. journalism. One of them, Rebuild Local News, sent its policy director, Anna Brugmann, to the conference in Vermont to fill us in. She explained how the org was instrumental in getting lawmakers in New York and Illinois to pass state legislation that gives tax credits to employers of journalists. She offered several other strategies that might gain traction in Vermont.

Another guest speaker was Dale Anglin of Press Forward, a national organization that is gathering up millions of dollars from press-friendly foundations to fund local journalism. You could have heard a pin drop as she explained the still-developing plan to distribute money to outlets through state "chapters." Ours will be hosted by the Vermont Community Foundation.

Two weeks later, both women reappeared at the annual convention of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, which I also attended, in Charleston, S.C. Other orgs that support journalism, including the Knight Foundation and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, sent reps, too. Everyone was talking about philanthropy. What's not yet clear is whether and when we can access it. At Seven Days, the question is: Will it be any more sustainable than our current business model, which is cracked but not broken?

We're not waiting around to find out. Every one of my publisher friends across the country is asking readers for financial support — and largely getting it. Many have found fiscal sponsors to accept large tax-deductible donations on their behalf.

Seven Days has had some success with that, too — both Journalism Funding Partners and Report for America currently serve as our fiscal sponsors. The two nonprofits can accept donations for Seven Days to fund specific public-service work. The money we receive from such donors — in addition to the revenue generated by the Super Readers who voluntarily pay for our content — is mostly making up for a drop in advertising income that we have been experiencing for the past 12 months. We're constantly innovating, and hustling, but the path forward feels precarious. Hopefully everyone who values our free paper can pitch in to help Seven Days keep going.

Despite the uncertainty, our journalism is better than ever. For years we struggled to compete in the annual AAN-organized writing contest against legacy alt-weeklies such as the Village Voice, the Boston Phoenix and the Chicago Reader. This year Seven Days produced more finalists — 11 — and took home more first-place wins — five — than any other member publication.

Related The Loss of Grace: In Vermont’s juvenile lockup, a girl endured violence and isolation. She wasn’t the only one. And it was no secret.

The Loss of Grace

In Vermont’s juvenile lockup, a girl endured violence and isolation. She wasn’t the only one. And it was no secret.

In Vermont’s only juvenile lockup, the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center, a troubled girl was held in isolation and subjected to violent restraints — even as advocates pressed for reforms at the facility. The full story of what she endured inside Woodside, which was run by the Department for Children and Families before it was shuttered, has never been told — until now.

By Joe Sexton

Investigation

I'm proud to say the winning entries ranged from Margot Harrison's arts criticism to a news story, "Vermont's Relapse," by Flanders. Video journalist Eva Sollberger and our first and longest-serving reporter, Ken Picard, also brought home gold. Joe Sexton's exposé of the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center won the organization's top prize for investigative journalism named for the late David Carr, a former alt-weekly writer whose final gig was covering the media for the New York Times.

I'm sure he would agree: Someone has to do it.