Vermont Directs State Agencies to Prioritize Local News in Advertising
Gov. Phil Scott’s July 23 executive order gives Vermont media preference in state advertising, affecting an estimated $4 million to $5 million annually while requiring better spending tracking and annual reports.
Gov. Phil Scott signed an executive order July 23 directing Vermont agencies, departments and contracted marketing vendors to give preference to Vermont-based media when buying advertising and public-information campaigns.
Executive Order 06-26, titled “Local Media Considerations in State Marketing and Advertising Purchasing,” took effect upon signature. It applies to qualifying Vermont print, digital, radio and television news or broadcast outlets.
The order could affect approximately $4 million to $5 million in annual state advertising and paid-media spending, according to the administration. That figure is an estimate, not a new appropriation or an audited total of money that will go to local outlets.
What the order changes
The order directs state agencies, departments and contracted marketing vendors to include local media and broadcast outlets in paid-media purchases whenever feasible and consistent with the best interests of the state.
The policy covers campaigns and information related to state services, health and safety, regulations, parks, lotteries and other public programs. Its definitions cover Vermont-based news organizations that produce original reporting and qualifying Vermont broadcast outlets.
The preference is not a requirement that all advertising be placed with Vermont outlets. Agencies retain discretion to use out-of-state media when that is necessary, feasible or in the state’s best interest.
The order also excludes certain purchases, including paid media focused on attracting out-of-state tourists and employment advertising aimed at recruiting candidates from outside Vermont. It does not guarantee that any particular newspaper, website, radio station or television station will receive state advertising.
How much money is involved
Vermont has not uniformly tracked advertising purchases across agencies, so the current share of state advertising dollars going to in-state media is not established.
That tracking gap makes the administration’s $4 million-to-$5 million estimate a measure of potentially affected annual spending, not a confirmed amount that local media currently receives or will receive under the order.
The Communications and Marketing Office is responsible for helping implement the policy. The order calls for the state to develop a process to assess paid-media spending across agencies and for annual reporting on spending and ad placement.
What residents should watch next
The first practical test will be the implementation guidance and tracking system developed by the Communications and Marketing Office. Those procedures should clarify how agencies document consideration of local outlets, when an out-of-state purchase is justified and how spending will be reported.
For residents, the reporting requirement could make it easier to see how public money is used to distribute information about state programs and services. It may also show whether the preference changes the mix of outlets used for public-health, safety, regulatory, parks, lottery and other campaigns.
The order concerns administrative purchasing policy. It does not create a fixed percentage requirement for local advertising and does not itself provide direct financial support to Vermont news organizations.
Separate from a proposed bill
The executive order should not be confused with S.84, a separate bill introduced in the Vermont Legislature that included proposed local-advertising and reporting requirements. The General Assembly’s official bill-status record shows that S.84 was read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations on February 25, 2025, where it remained. It was not enacted.
For now, Executive Order 06-26 is the operative policy. Its effect will depend on how agencies apply the preference, how often they continue to use out-of-state media and what the required annual reports ultimately show.
Sources
- Executive Order 06-26, Local Media Considerations in State Marketing and Advertising Purchasing
- Vermont to give local news priority for state advertising dollars
- Executive order directs state government to 'buy local,' by advertising in Vermont media
- Vermont General Assembly: Bill Status S.84
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