Vermont Access Network wins National Award for Humanistic Communication

Vermont Business Magazine It was a great moment for Vermont community media on June 25th, as the Vermont Access Network (VAN) received the Alliance for Community Media’s (ACM) 2025 Dirk Koning-George Stoney Award for Humanistic Communication at ACM’s Annual Conference in Boston.

The award is normally given to an individual, but VAN – made up of the state’s 24 community media centers – received the award for its collaborative success. 

At the awards luncheon held at Boston University, ACM Chair Jasmine White noted that “Vermont Access Network continues to bolster and support access media across Vermont by building a vision for the future of the field and procuring resources for their communities.”

The ACM acknowledged VAN’s efforts “advocating before the state’s Public Utility Commission to preserve funding streams and gain equitable access to digital technologies from Charter and Comcast.” The nationwide organization lauded VAN’s work on a statewide HD channel and the group’s success obtaining state funding since 2019, in the face of declining cable revenue. ACM Chair White noted that “VAN, working with Action Circles, has walked a steady advocacy path that included a state study on the future of community media funding, recognition as an ‘essential service’ during the COVID epidemic, $2.4 million in one-time funding and ongoing financial support for all access management organizations in the State.”

VAN serves as an example to the country, White said, adding: “Through their work and collaboration, Vermont Access Network moved initiatives forward to help all Vermonters access information that they need, a model to be shared with other states around the US.”

Upon receiving the award VAN President Kurt Broderson reflected, “VAN learned to collaborate so that we are more than the sum of our parts.” VAN Advocacy Committee Chair Angelike Contis thanked the people of Vermont for electing representatives who recognize the value of community media.

Nearly 20 representatives from Vermont were present to be lauded by their US-wide peers, including those from Barre (CATV), Brattleboro (BCTV), Burlington (CCTV/Town Meeting TV and Media Factory), Manchester (GNAT), Middlebury (MCTV), Richmond (MMCTV) and St. Albans (NWATV).

The Vermont Access Network (VAN) is a non-profit membership organization established to promote an interest in the effective operation and advancement of Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Access Television Centers around the state. VAN connects, supports, and advocates for these 24 Centers, which operate more than 80 local cable channels across Vermont.

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy | cctv.org

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