Vermont Public’s Brendan Kinney named CEO of VTDigger

Brendan Kinney, the chief operating officer of Vermont Public, has been selected as the next chief executive officer of the Vermont Journalism Trust, the nonprofit parent organization of VTDigger, Vermont’s largest online news outlet.

Kinney, who spent 16 years at Vermont Public and its predecessor Vermont Public Radio — including a year as interim CEO — was chosen unanimously by the trust’s board following a national search. He grew up in central Vermont and holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Saint Michael’s College.

He succeeds Sky Barsch, who joined VTDigger as CEO in April 2023 and announced her departure in January. Barsch’s tenure included reducing the organization’s annual financial losses and completing a new four-year union agreement with newsroom staff. Her last day is June 1.

Kinney inherits an organization that has made measurable financial progress but remains in the red. According to the Vermont Journalism Trust’s public tax filings, the organization posted a net loss of just over $1 million in 2022, which had been reduced to approximately $726,000 in 2023 and $76,000 in 2024. The newly signed union contract and the cost of sustaining a newsroom of roughly 30 people add to the financial pressure Kinney will face as he works to close the gap.

VTDigger was founded by Anne Galloway in 2009.