Merged stations VPR and Vermont PBS to be named Vermont Public

Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS, which formally merged last year, will be collectively known as Vermont Public.

“Our new name pays homage to our past while signaling a new mission for the future,” said CEO Scott Finn in a news release Thursday. “Across TV, radio, and digital platforms, we will engage a broader and more diverse audience, through stories that bring our community together.”

The stations announced plans to merge in 2020 after several years of informal discussions. Station leaders, who referred to the merged stations as “Vermont Public” in interviews over the last two years, previously told Current that they would speak with the public, staff and board of directors when developing the new identity.

The logo for the station depicts the shape of Vermont in green and is meant to signify “the organization’s focus on inclusion and connection, reaching every corner of Vermont,” according to a news release.

Solidarity of Unbridled Labour, a Burlington-based creative agency, developed the new branding. Vermont Public consulted with the Vermont Public Community Forum, a volunteer advisory board, during the branding process.

The station’s content and services are live at vermontpublic.org. 

“We’ve been here to engage, inform, and inspire Vermonters for more than fifty years,” said Marguerite Dibble, incoming board chair, in the news release. “And that won’t change. Our core audience will continue to see and hear all the things they love. Their support and loyalty have shaped who we are today. And as the needs of our community evolve, and the media landscape shifts, we want to broaden access for all voices to participate, from every corner of our unique state.”

“If you listen or watch currently, we’re still everything you counted on,” said current board chair Nicole Junas Ravlin, who will pass her duties to Dibble later this month. “If you haven’t felt like public media is for you, we’re creating new ways for you to participate and hear your voices and interests reflected and shared. Vermont Public is for all of us.”