Photo courtesy VAN (Vermont Access Network).
Vermont Business Magazine Working behind the scenes to help Vermonters be seen, heard and connected with each other, elected representatives, and the democratic process, our state’s community media centers were working hard before, during and after Town Meeting Day on March 3, 2026.
Leading up to meetings and votes around the state, the 24 members of the Vermont Access Network (VAN), who operate 80 Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Access Television channels, and their 9 community radio partners, recorded and transmitted candidate statements, election forums, and ballot informational hearings and interviews.
Local officials and state representatives were on air at community radio stations discussing the issues - and explaining the process to first-time voters. Community media staff and volunteers were at polling places talking to candidates, voters and community organizations.
They held election-result shows and, afterwards, welcomed newly elected officials into their studios, captured organizational meetings of school boards and selectboards alike and archived it all. In a time when media is shrinking and the authenticity of sources are often in doubt, Vermont’s community media TV and radio is a reliable and trusted first source, transmitting 35,000 hours of hyperlocal content in 2025.
Kurt Broderson, Executive Director of Middlebury Community Television and President of the Vermont Access Network, noted that Vermonters show higher levels of trust in their local governments than in many other places, and that is due in part to the transparency that community media brings to local governance.
Rutland City Clerk Tracy Kapusta thanked PEG-TV for their election night program, noting: “You had the results before anyone else, and we even tuned in when we got back to City Hall. Your staff is polite and very respectful."
In Winooski, a city official commented: "A heartfelt thanks to EVERYONE for making that a great meeting! Special thank you to Town Meeting TV and WSD for making the remote meeting portion such a success. It worked wonderfully and was the best yet!”
As meetings are evolving, media centers partnered with towns to assist; in Jericho, MMCTV helped the town hold a new hybrid budget meeting in January, part of a shift to Australian Ballot-only voting on Town Meeting Day. A comprehensive snapshot follows, listing how community media organizations brought Town Meeting Day to communities across Vermont.
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