 Thomas Jefferson said, a well-informed electorate is a prerequisite for democracy. The following program is part of the series, influencers and media makers. A number of years ago, CCTV sat down with some of Vermont's most influential voices in media, news and information access to understand their perspectives about the role of media in democracy and how their decisions shape the way we as Vermonters receive information. Much has changed since our first interviews. The people, the technology and social media, the political landscape and so much more. Fast forward 20 or so years and in collaboration with Leadership Champlain we are revisiting the topic with a focus on what has changed, gaps and challenges across geographic, language and socioeconomic boundaries. The conversations you will hear with today's gatekeepers provide important, varied and insightful context to the media in Vermont today. Enjoy. Wanted to kind of start with suction is just a bit about Vermont CAS so people have a good idea in your words about what it is because Ben actually was able to provide a lot of the background and how this was born out of local paper owners. Marianne and Paul. I'm just kind of going from there and the content you are involved with specifically and how that fills out the Vermont CAS programming. So you're asking me about my journey with Vermont CAS? Yeah, this will be edited. Feel free to ramble and pause. I was just like, where am I saying? Yeah, about yourself too and how you came to be with Vermont CAS. Right. So I think one of the beauties of Vermont CAS is that it does parallel kind of the evolution of communication and the shifting of priorities that the pandemic served as a catalyst for and I think it was a perfect storm of a lot of things. So personally, I worked in the performing arts industry before this and you didn't have any performing arts during the height of the pandemic. So I did my introspection of what sparks joy within me, what do I think my purpose is and is to create these screenshots of emotions and moments to share that people can connect with and if that sparks starlight, that's fine. If that is just something that someone finds beautiful or interesting, that's fine. But I just wanted to use the power to frame how I see things so people can also see it because representation matters and I understand that my voice and the way I see things is not something that is very apparent in a lot of media. It's not, you know, when you turn on the TV the percent chance of seeing someone who sees the way I do and creating media the way that I create media is like, I don't know, maybe we're at a good 7%. We're at a 7% chance, but it's still not high. And I think as I developed my voice as an artist and I saw the indeed, you know, article being like hey, want to work for this company I was just like, yeah, that sounds amazing. And so I met with Mary Ann and Paul. They actually came to my studio back when it was still like barely, you know, called together because I did this all myself in the sense that my friends and my community came together and we, you know, I laid this floor myself. We picked it up and took it up a flight of stairs and we're like, wow, like 25 square feet of vinyl flooring is actually kind of heavy. And, you know, we talked and they talked about their vision of Vermont cast and how they wanted to highlight the beauty of Vermont, the passions, the underpinnings, the currents, and the different perspectives of Vermont. And a lot of times I say to people it's similar to a ethical version of Buzzfeed, like Vermont's ethical version of Buzzfeed in the best way of here are these pieces that highlight the type of people that are in Vermont. Here are the things that highlight the beauty of Vermont, the trials, the tribulations, the pathways to build this community that is not perfect but is striving to improve. And we're doing our part to show the human side of that improvement. So that's the reason I joined Vermont cast and that's kind of how they found me in that moment where we're just like, wow, the world's like, not great. And I kind of want to make it a little more great. And I want to do that through media. And then we're like, yeah, let's do it. And they're like, you want to join us? I was like, yeah, let's do it. That's a great origin story. I love that. Yeah, I think we were all feeling the pressure and the pain of the pandemic. And somehow along the way I started falling along and really did find a lot of inspiration there. I've also noticed some pieces covering Black History Month was a pretty robust programming. I also noticed you covered the amendment to the local city code removing the gendered language regarding sex work in the city. Yeah. Can you speak to some of those more pressing issues that you did choose to cover and why? Yeah, so it all connects in that I am a multi-media artist. So one of the things I do is that I do Berlesque. And Berlesque is complicated in the way that I often describe it as like the suburbs of sex work. That there are people who are full-service sex workers in Berlesque and the foundation of Berlesque is sex work. The history to it is tied and can never be removed. But where we are now and how people perceive sex work now, a lot of people can just be like, no, I'm just a Berlesque dancer. It's theater. Or when people talk about pole dancing they're like, I'm not a stripper. I'm a pole dancer. And you're like, these are our roots. We can't separate this. And I am pro-sex work. I'm pro-bodily autonomy. We need to normalize it. Not in the way that we need to sanitize it where you're like, we're normalizing in a way that, yeah, you see Rocky Road when you go to an ice cream shop. We're normalizing in a way where like, this is a facet of life. And if I don't interact with it that's fine. But they're deserving of as much respect as I give the average worker because they are just an average worker. So as a Berlesque I experience these things more and especially as a black person who does engage with these types of sex works. I do phrase the brunt of the oppression and the way that it is dangerous for me. And I understand that we are in Burlington and so there is a concept of being safer but just because it's safer in a physical way doesn't mean that we can just be on the sidelines and not work harder to be better because silence is compliance. You letting people speak illy or not realizing these words carry the weight of their harm is creating further harm. So I was just like, like, we're all good but like, let's get better. And so seeing these questions pop up, knowing people who are creating pole dancing studios and these Berlesque shows, I was just like this is a normal part of our life and it's just as beautiful as us going to say a watering hole that's in Vermont. It's just a part of the fabric that connects and builds the character of our community. Wow. Very well put. Yeah, I also love how you don't shy away from the really explicit nature of these codes and how they do impact daily remonters. We spoke to Taylor while last week about some of the legislation that she put through which is sadly now really coming into effect with some recent really harm done to the trans community. So I don't think that there's fun packed about me and Taylor or actually friends and that if you ever go to Taylor's house you will see one of my paintings in her house. It's very large painting so you can't miss it. It's like four feet by five feet or something. Wow. It's been so great to see all these connections in the community and that we're not as separate as the media would want us to think. So getting into kind of the meat of the interview that we've been trying to gather some of these points of interest in local media and what did I noticed in that piece as well about the just crack my back. In the piece about the gender language in the Burlington City Code that you also helped spread the word about how, when, where to vote. So what role do you think Vermont cast plays in voting decisions and how do you decide when and how to cover that? So one of what I think is a very interesting and part of why Vermont cast is important and impactful is that it is in a sense decentralized. I was speaking on how Ben is my supervisor but in a way he operates more as I would say our quarterback on a football team. Like he is our leader but in a way that we do feel like a team and it's not his way guiding us it's no take what you see as a Vermonter and put that first because we are making content for Vermonters and in essence your journey is the journey of a Vermonter so that is how we operate. So when it comes to creating or making these decisions it's coming from us living and being like this is important to me right now I want to make something about this right now and we know it will resonate because we are creating Vermont content for Vermonters as Vermonters and so this decentralized way that kind of separates us from the 25 hour news cycle where like okay what should we make to get these views to get these things we're like no what is important to us and we know by fact that as Vermonters creating content this will be important to someone else and it's not about the overarching numbers it's about the community based creation and the language and creating this space in which we are flourishing which is divesting what we from what is perceived often as traditional media so when it comes to deciding these things it's almost as natural as breathing because it's part of our livelihoods we're taking what we see and how we see and when we see it and taking these snapshots and putting it through for so and we know that because we're speaking as people to people it is a lot easier for us to be like hey it's time to go out and vote because it's not an authority figure being like now at 5 p.m. you must vote it's more like hey it's almost voting time oh my god I almost forgot I was like I know Sam that's what I'm telling you so we both vote yeah that's great yeah I think we touched on that national state versus local environment and building on that how do you address some of the bias and ideology and some of those more insidious aspects of the wider news or do you just try to stay in your own lane when you're creating that content the bias of national news I think in the sense I this is going to come from more of me personally than from Vermontcast and I think the fact that I am employed by Vermontcast and even before this interview Ben and the team was like you're speaking as yourself and you speaking as yourself is a reflection of Vermontcast so like say what you gotta say as you gotta say because that's why we hired you so speaking as myself the my existence in all of its facets and all of the levels and intersections in which I exist has always put me on the outside of major news because more often than not the classifications in how I am reported on or how people like me are reported on put me as a villain or put me as unable the way that we have fat phobia so they're just like yeah you're big because you're unhealthy and you're going to die I'm like no that's not it or yeah if you raise your voice you're angry because you're black and you're like no that's also incorrect so I think my existence and me reporting honestly through my feelings and speaking through the harm because it's not me falling into respectability politics it's me saying I'm existing this is actually how we exist you see me exist and I and that is what we mean when we say existence is revolutionary representation matters because I am not actively fighting them to be like no look at me approve of me I'm existing and that fact alone the fact that you I am being seen and I am not giving you the power to change how I will interact at any point is us dismantling that system and while it won't make the huge impact such as systemic changes and laws make it makes the changes in the grassroots movement of people being like oh this person exists and this is normal it is the more they see people like me the more people who are like me can be like okay I can do this they're like it might be hard but I know it can be done and then when they do it it's a little bit easier and it also proves to those who don't like me that it doesn't matter I'm so sorry that you hate that I exist but look at me go so my existence in itself is how I kind of battle the system absolutely I notice even just going about your weekend is often reported on and do you feel like that is a political act given your identity I think it is in the way the nuance of that question lies in the crux of because no matter what I do I will always be politicized the way these systems are in place and the way that white supremacy in itself is a beast that evolves to keep itself in power that no matter what I do it is an act of resistance but the nuance lies in that I do not fight it by trying to change it I fight it by saying my purpose in life is to save someone and it is okay if it's just myself my purpose is to bring joy and me bringing joy to myself is enough I am very privileged and I am very happy that I can show that act to other people and I can show that my personality type or my idiosyncrasies are as welcomed and they are just as deserving and so yes it's a political act because we live in a system that refuses to show that narrative but I don't politicize it in the way that I'm doing it as an objective I'm just saying this is the way it is and if you and so if it adds fuel to a fire that's not my problem because I'm a beautiful tree regardless yeah getting into the news desert and access section of our interview we define a news desert as community either rural or urban with limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grass roots level this can be interpreted so many different ways though everyone we've interviewed has had such a different take on what they visualize as a news desert in Vermont sometimes it's geographical sometimes it's socioeconomic and sometimes it's technological have you had a chance to think about kind of the landscape of Vermont who has access to media and how Vermont cast and how yourself as a creator kind of contributes or at least yeah right so thank you so when it comes to news deserts everyone is correct because there that is the point but that is the fact of intersections there's so many avenues and ways that things balloon to the issue that it is today it's a death by a thousand cuts so socioeconomically there is an issue and that technology is tied to it but also is separate to it so all these things come together to create this huge monster and it is very well and good that each person might attack it differently and that's why you'll always get a different answer because there's so many facets to bringing it down because once again I said it white supremacy and all these things build upon themselves to create a stronger problem to make it harder to dismantle which is why you see it everywhere in every aspect and I think Vermont cast recognizes that and I think because it's that human to human approach that makes it more comfortable so I think the way we access how we show things being very much ourselves being very cognizant of who we have as Vermont cast representatives not saying we need to find someone who is diverse but saying if they are able and if they are willing to work with us obviously they can because they are Vermont and we need to recognize that like yeah a lot of us who like to ski are gonna wanna make ski content so Parker if you're like hey we're gonna have a federal duck contest both in Vermont cast yeah that makes sense I don't know how it makes sense but I know it makes sense to you so we're going to do it and so I think that kind of helps with kind of a cultural approach and then when it comes to a technology approach while the United States has one of the highest access to social media it is still not perfect and we recognize it's not perfect but we also recognize that it's easier for someone to access Instagram than it may be to access a news channel that maybe they can only access our Tiktok and our Instagram and they don't have the ability to go to a website so we have different lengths of time we have different avenues technologically that you know if someone is at a library they can access the website easy peasy or easier easier if someone has a cell phone if they have wifi they can access us so while it's not perfect because we can't fix technology because that's not what the power we have but to make sure within the limitations we can be accessed is great and then with social economic I think that is one of the reasons why I do my weekend we do the weekend run down and we have people show their own locations because you know I am not going to be able to afford to go to a really nice like weekend festival but I can go to a bookstore this is you know broke bait problems that's another way to kind of create that comfortability or create that like modern language in that it's not taboo to speak on this and so I think that's how we're operating and that's how we're growing and as we gain more in the future because we also have to recognize that VermontCast is so new it started in 2021 and we are just we're technically like four months into 2022 but like you know it's still like very early for not even a year old so to see that this is what we're doing with our bare bones abilities what we do as we grow as a company with our ethics and our integrity guiding how we create content I do believe we will have more impact in different ways in the future do I know what it is? No but I know we're going to do it because I'm going to be there and I'll be like why don't I do it so great hopefully I answer the question I might have gone off absolutely cool yeah I know Ben spoke a lot about specifically engaging youth and it seems that these tools that VermontCast is using would be really well adapted to that and what do you see as your responsibility as a member of VermontCast to expand access to diverse audiences is VermontCast focused on that or is that something that's a byproduct of engagement with social media and what kind of partnerships do you have with other organizations to that end it is a byproduct that we foster in the way that it's like a garden and we're building a garden, the garden of VermontCast and then there's this plan of being like oh we're engaging youth and we can nurture this because I think speaking on systems like well when we go through the US education system currently the love of reading has been destroyed because of the way it has been so specifically by these types of authors for these types of themes for these types of tests and it kind of takes away the way that people want to read where you're just like no you reading comic books is you reading you reading a romance webtoon reading you just engaging and really like people who have very poetic Instagram captions reading and I think the way the education system has kind of stripped that and how it is a tool for people to kind of like disengage with news because the 24 hour news cycle you're just like this is some big wordy stuff and like I know I don't like big wordy stuff because when I was in school I hated reading and we're just like fair that's true but also would you like 60 seconds with me using an R2D2 clip to tell you about the sci-fi expo would you like us to like speak to you like a human being at your level respectfully because we are a human first news news organization and I think that is why the byproduct is hopefully very apparent or hopefully makes the impact that we think it will because we recognize that this isn't we're not forcing you to engage we are your peers engaging with you bringing you stories that we think you would find interesting because we find it interesting that because it's something that we assume has to be done we're aiming for the community not for the escalator of what we think or what people have propped up to be a media company so that's our goal that's our goal just to be a really cool community and people being like yeah we're like yeah yeah I think that social media engagement is something that a lot of broadcasters have kind of struggled with to some degree with not always the most positive spin on that resource so let's see do you have a relationship with more traditional media sources as a social media maker and do you see let's see yeah I think that's it yeah what relationship do you have to those traditional media sources I guess is what I'm getting at there I think it is very similar to my relationship as an artist in that I have been privileged to you know I went to Champlain College I was a creative media major so I was able to take classes to help me learn a lot of traditional basics I have been on the news or worked with organizations it's it's like one of those things where like I it's it's not weird that it's happened but the frequency I'm like this is a happen that happens you know in Argentina in 2014 you probably saw me in news twice for two different reasons and for something with the embassy that I don't remember if you've been watching the news here you probably see me like randomly out and about you know in different pieces being like oh Champlain College is breaking ground or you know there was a conference with Senator Leahy and I'm just like there so I think I've had these exposures because of how I've grown up how I've operated the education path I've had where I got to learn these foundations and because I just am very joy focused in that I am trying to live as honestly as purposefully and as beautifully as I can because every step I take I want the footprints to leave something like to grow something beautiful behind me and so with that integrity and that honesty and that focus on creativity I have been able to be more on new media because I'm just like I cannot force myself to assimilate to what we know as traditional media because it's not me I understand it and I can take the lessons to create things so like I I know how to work a camera I learned how to work a camera I know how traditionally I should work a camera am I going to put myself at my space angle because I think it's funnier and it's more relatable and more me and therefore someone's like this is funny and I'm like I know that's why I made it so we both think it's funny I think that is how that relationship works for me is that I understand it I don't want to do it I just love that I guess flipping the perspective and that kind of attitude about social media and using it for a force of good do you see any critical challenges to overcome in that goal or are there just these bright spots that you've been able to highlight everything has ups and downs and definitely with social media there is the problem of the digital self versus the in-person self and I feel like it's easier for me to find the bright spots because once again I have the education and I've had that privilege to like be able to like parse those things but for the average person we shouldn't expect them to because they have other shit going on I was like you didn't go to school for like a master's degree in museum and gallery studies and then read a thesis about like the digital self and dismantling the white cube that's what I did so that's why I can talk about it you just are living your life trying to pay your bills surviving this capitalist hellscape so like I have that being like I see why this is happening and I see why it's like a little out of my control so it's like I don't carry the judgment or that resentment so I feel like this is why it's a little easier for me when it is something that is very hard for people because the digital self and the real self a lot of people feel that anonymity and they feel that empowerment to kind of project and put their issues out there and especially when a lot of those issues are ugly because you know we're going through this world we all experience these ugly things that shape us and we don't often have the tools or the space to build the compassion to work through them and so especially because the instant gratification it's so easy for people to be hateful or to people to shut down and break down and just put that on the creator especially in parasocial relationships so like yes people have you know called me a disgusting whale people have been like I thought this was Vermont and you know you knowing the racial undertones of them being like why does a black person tell me about Vermont they're not from Vermont I'm like guess where my address is Vermont and so those dark spots can really be overwhelming especially when you think about the privilege and the access and like the comparison to other creators that are where you want to be or saying a narrative that's not yours and people are just like putting all these things together and I will never say that it's not hard and it's not for everyone but I am very grateful that I understand that like that's not my issue I see the comments and I will I will be affected by them I feel my emotions but I'm also like yeah I feel these emotions I felt them I see them I'm going to move on because at the end of the day I'm making this for me in my homies always order a really good meal from China Express totally yeah I think I maybe would want to give you the opportunity to speak to your homies and say hey homies yeah um you know to emerging creators, emerging people of color and all these other identities that have so been under represented what would you say to people wanting to step out into that scary arena of social media and media in general in that this will sound mean and it is mean it might sound beautiful because it is beautiful the world is a messy gross place but so our gardens so our mulch so our earthworms so our blooming flowers it all comes together to create this ecosystem and if you want to step out into it and you think it's because oh I have to like I'm suffering from depression I have ADHD I have like I don't have the language of someone who went to school for it or I like colorism's got you down it will try to beat the ever-loving crap out of you but this world thrives through community survival of the fittest isn't the biggest baddest person it is the people who find the solutions and find the community to thrive together and we are social animals and you are deserving and competent and smart enough to break into these spaces that are trying to exclude you those are the spaces problem not your problem so find your community people that give you strength inspire you whether that be parasocial that you look up to them or people in your community that you can reach out to and learn from or create with because whether you are you know aiming to take down Fox news or you're trying to you know split rent three ways in a dinky little studio to make a little zine just for yourself and maybe your cousin that would love to see it that is enough you are enough and the amount of joy you create as long as it brings you joy and it makes the world what you think a little more beautiful that's the perfect project if you like this and want to see more watch the rest of the series thank you for watching and please vote