click to enlarge - Courtesy of Vermont Public
- Stewart Ledbetter on "Vermont This Week"
Stewart Ledbetter, a fixture of Vermont’s broadcast news industry, announced his retirement from NBC5 on Monday.
Ledbetter currently anchors the 5:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and the Sunday public affairs program "NBC5 In Depth." His last scheduled broadcast will be February 16.
Ledbetter, 62, began his reporting career as editor of his high school paper. After graduating from the University of Vermont, he briefly worked at the radio stations WJOY-AM and WQCR-FM before joining NBC5 in 1984. Throughout the 1990s, Ledbetter served as news director at NBC5, launching the station's first website.
He gained a reputation as a reliable and balanced Statehouse reporter. “There are very few people who can provide the wealth of knowledge Stewart has when it comes to state politics,” NBC5 news director Michael LaFlesh said in a written statement.
Ledbetter had plenty of opportunities to move to a national stage throughout his career, but he chose to stay in Vermont, where he grew up.
“I agonized over job offers every three or four years,” Ledbetter told
Seven Days. "But I’ve always enjoyed the privilege of getting to know my home state really well and being able to sleep in my own bed at night.”
From 2007 to 2023, Ledbetter also served as moderator of the Friday reporter roundtable “Vermont This Week” on Vermont Public. He's the longest-tenured host in the show's 41-year history. Ledbetter stepped down from that gig in 2023. Since then, Vermont Public has relied on a rotating cast of moderators while searching for a permanent host.
Ledbetter’s work has earned broadcast awards from the Vermont and New York Associated Press, a regional Emmy and the 2015 national Edward R. Murrow Award for continuing coverage, which he shared with a colleague. He was inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019.
Ledbetter said he will take the advice of former U.S. senator Patrick Leahy, who called him on Monday to offer his congratulations: He'll rest and visit family in Florida before jumping into any new projects.
“I have been very happy," he said of his career. "I have no regrets looking back.”