Paula Routly: Seven Days Is Powered by People

One of the great things about being away from Seven Days for two weeks in August was watching it from afar, running smoothly without me. Despite three decades of successful operation, and stacks of journalism awards, this media business has gotten increasingly complex and challenging to run. I’m afraid to take my hand off the helm — even for a few days — for fear that will be the moment we encounter an iceberg. But going away makes me realize: My colleagues have got it. The crew at Seven Days is skilled and can navigate around whatever comes up.

Many of them have been on this small boat for almost as long as I have; the paper turned 31 on Sunday. In April, account executive Michelle Brown retired after a 30-year watch. Don Eggert, Colby Roberts and Diane Sullivan have been on board for 27. Other longtimers include staff writer Ken Picard (24 years), senior account executive Robyn Birgisson (22), deputy publisher Cathy Resmer (21), video journalist Eva Sollberger (19), culture coeditors Dan Bolles (19) and Carolyn Fox (17), director of circulation and logistics Matt Weiner (16), and production manager John James (14).

Such employee loyalty is unusual in today’s world, and I know Seven Dayzers don’t stay for the generous compensation and family-friendly schedule; we provide neither. Our staffers stick around because they like being part of a team of hardworking professionals who together create a high-quality local publication that connects and improves our community.

With a few exceptions, former employees tend to remember the experience fondly.

And, on occasion, they come back. Chelsea Edgar was 27 when she started contributing stories to Seven Days. She was such a rare talent, we hired her as a staff writer — she did time on the news and culture desks — before she left to explore freelancing for national magazines. Between pieces, including one for the New Yorker, she returned as a consulting editor. Now she’s back on the payroll, doing a mix of writing and editing. That’s good news for Vermont readers. Her memorable stories include one for which she spent a week milking cows on a Panton dairy farm and another that involved embedding for a month with Bread and Puppet Theater in Glover. More recently, her “Hater’s Guide to Small Plates” hilariously skewered a popular restaurant trend.

Interns return, too. Sam Hartnett wrapped up his University of Vermont degree shortly before coming to our newsroom in summer 2025. We kept him around until November, when he went to work for a Vermont lobbying firm and spent the winter wearing a coat and tie in the legislature. He missed Seven Days so much — and we missed him! — that we brought him back in June to work in sales.

This year’s news intern, Ian Curry, impressed us to such an extent — one of his stories made it onto the NPR game show “Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!” — that we offered him a full-time job as a reporter. He’ll be joining the team in February when he graduates from Middlebury College.

These young Vermonters are looking for an environment in which they can learn from and with others — the way most workplaces used to operate before the pandemic. At Seven Days, they have found a people-powered company that values and invests in them, a place where, during business hours, a human being still answers the phone.

Until last Friday, one of those people was Gillian English, who was also on her second session at Seven Days. Her title, “assistant to the publishers,” did not come close to capturing all that she did for the company. After our annual staff photo last week at Sam Mazza’s Farm Market in Colchester, we said goodbye over pie before she left us for new adventures in the New York City area.

What lies ahead for Seven Days? So many big waves make it hard to see the horizon — or, to use the metaphor suggested by our 2026 staff photo, to figure out which path is the right one.

Last week, the Vermont Community Newspaper Group announced it sold its five media outlets to the nonprofit National Trust for Local News. The change could be a good thing for the Vermonters served by the Stowe Reporter, Lamoille County’s News & Citizen, the Shelburne News, South Burlington’s Other Paper, and the Citizen of Charlotte and Hinesburg.

It takes vision and relentless drive to run Seven Days. Also, money.

But it’s naïve to think that nonprofit status solves the problem of sustaining local journalism. For-profit or 501c3, it takes vision and relentless drive to run a credible media outlet. Also, money. News publishers pay dearly for reporters, public records, postage, legal review — and, in our case, printing and distribution. Until someone comes up with a better funding mechanism, we’re looking to raise money from every possible source: advertising, events, licensing, sponsorships, membership and philanthropy. Relying on just one or two of those is too risky.

At Seven Days, income from grants and voluntary subscribers now accounts for 15 percent of our revenue — up from zero before the pandemic. Vermont Public and VTDigger have always sold advertising, aka “underwriting,” in addition to the financial support they get from donors. Both outlets are now exploring other sources of funding, such as events. We are actively collaborating with them on editorial and business projects.

In short, we’re trying to keep a good thing going. If you’re not already contributing to that effort, please consider becoming a Super Reader. It helps keep this newspaper — and all of the newsletter and website content — free for you and your neighbors. Bonus: All the people in this photo will be very grateful.