REPORT 2023 - 2024
LETTERS FROM OUR LEADERSHIP
VPM’s 2023-2024 Fiscal Year was filled with impactful work that made a difference in the communities we serve. I’m so proud to share this Annual Report, which highlights all that was accomplished.
Thanks to your partnership, VPM continued to produce and share content of consequence about the people, issues and topics that matter most to communities across the Commonwealth. We are committed to strengthening our local news coverage, producing more arts and culture programming and improving early childhood learning outcomes.
In 2025, VPM will focus on building for our future – literally! As construction progresses on our headquarters in downtown Richmond, we will see our vision for a vibrant public square and modern media facility come to life. With your support, we are laying the foundation for VPM’s success for decades to come. It’s an exciting time at VPM, and I’m delighted that you’re a part of it.
Jayme Swain, President and CEO VPM and the Virginia Foundation for Public Media
WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL FIND, IN THESE PAGES, BOTH INFORMATION AND INSPIRATION.
As a public media corporation, we are led by the imperative of impact, rather than the metrics of profits and ratings. Our eyes are on that prizeknowing we make a difference to you and to our communities.
I hope that difference is clear, as you consider the details of this year’s accomplishments. In FY24, we have increased our ability to question by expanding our newsroom and breaking ground on our new headquarters in the heart of the Commonwealth’s capital. We have continued to participate in conversations about our children, our cultural landscape and our civic responsibilities. We continue to celebrate the people and experiences that make our region home, and to elevate the possibilities for becoming even better.
In all of this, we are indebted to you. We value your investment in VPM, and we depend on your engagement with our work.
I hope you find this report an energizing read, and I hope to see you in the midst of the many opportunities to come.
Irene Carney, Chair VPM Media Corporation Board of Directors
MAKING AN IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, VPM was present and engaged in your community throughout 2023-2024.
In early summer 2023, VPM welcomed PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger to help us celebrate the launch of our capital campaign for VPM’s move to downtown Richmond. We announced a $750,000 matching gift from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation and Paula shared with the audience that she personally relies on VPM for her Virginia news!
In October 2023, VPM helped Charlottesville families celebrate the benefits and importance of playing outside at the annual Children’s Festival Down by the Bog. VPM was proud to unveil The Basics Preschool Nature Trail, which features permanent signage to help families and caregivers learn and apply The Basics principals in nature.
The 19th Richmond Folk Festival returned to Richmond in October 2023 and VPM streamed the performances live. While on site, VPM production teams recorded and interviewed musicians and organizers for a documentary celebrating the upcoming 20th anniversary of the festival.
VPM welcomed NPR journalist and author Steve Inskeep to our studio in February 2024 to discuss his newest book, Differ We Must. Steve was interviewed by VPM President and CEO Jayme Swain and answered questions from VPM supporters.
In November 2023, Virginia Commonwealth University and VPM welcomed nearly 400 attendees to the RESONATE Podcast Festival to attend workshops with skilled producers, participate in live performances and receive feedback from industry veterans. Occurring annually, the RESONATE Podcast Festival is an extension of the work being done in the VPM + ICA Community Media Center.
Late in the summer of 2023, VPM announced our plans to move downtown to a new state-ofthe-art headquarters in Historic Monroe Ward. The move will make VPM’s news and content production operations more accessible to the public, creating a platform for in-person civic engagement and programming.
In April 2024, VPM’s Jayme Swain moderated the Richmond Forum discussion between noted legal affairs journalists Kimberly Strassel and Jan Crawford. Each season, several of the Richmond Forum’s highly-acclaimed events are shown later in the year on VPM PBS.
In partnership with Charlottesville area nonprofits, VPM’s Early Childhood Care and Education team participated in the 2nd Annual Day of Healing in June 2024. VPM reached more than 100 children with books and learning activities.
More than 250 children joined VPM, along with 20 Charlottesville nonprofits and businesses, at the May 2024 ReadyKids KIDCHELLA block party to support mental well-being. VPM hosted fun activities, distributed books and provided literary resources to caregivers as part of The Basics initiative.
VPM News played an integral part of the Public Media Journalists Association’s planning committee for its annual conference in June 2024 in Washington, D.C. Leading up to the conference, VPM News selected topics for breakout sessions and identified opportunities for collaboration across stations. Once the conference kicked off, VPM moderated panel discussions and hosted a conversation with NPR CEO Katherine Maher.
Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall was bustling with readers, authors, literary discussions, book signings and more at the 2024 Virginia Festival of the Book in March, and VPM was proud to host a group of authors in our Charlottesville office for a reading on the first day of the Festival.
During every weekend in March 2024, the VPM team traveled with a green couch to cities, towns and rural crossroads across Virginia to film the pilot season of a PBS digital series called Couching It. In Waynesboro, Staunton, Richmond, White Stone and Tappahannock, host Jan Tillery had blunt and respectful conversations with a diverse array of citizens about their views on the direction of our nation’s democracy.
VPM NEWS
VPM PRIORITY: BE THE GO-TO SOURCE FOR TRUSTED, FACTUAL LOCAL NEWS IN VIRGINIA
In 2024, VPM continued to expand the breadth of its coverage of Virginia by evolving its approach to delivering news to better reach people where they are. While many newsrooms are shrinking or disappearing altogether, the VPM News team has one of the largest newsrooms in the state and works continuously to diversify its reporting.
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“The past year has been an amazing time for VPM News, and our staff has made a difference statewide. Of note is our General Assembly coverage, which included the repeal and reinstatement of the Virginia Military Spouses and Dependents Education Program, plus our breaking coverage of stories like Richmond’s casino referendum failing for the second time.”
~ VPM News Director, Elliott Robinson
“VPM News covers local issues that matter most to its communities: Virginia’s General Assembly; statewide politics and elections; educational, economic, environmental and legal issues; healthcare; local events; infrastructure; and the news of the day. In today’s media landscape, audiences consume content in a multitude of ways, and that’s why VPM is working to connect with audiences where they are: TV and radio broadcasts; social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube; online at VPM.org; podcasts; and e-newsletters.
What Makes VPM Stand Out?
We’re committed to election literacy. VPM joined America Amplified, a public media journalism initiative that focuses on listening to the community in the reporting process. The initiative seeks to help Americans in all 50 states navigate the voting process.
We’re award-winning. This year, the VPM News team was recognized for their work with Virginia’s AP Broadcasters Awards, Regional Murrow Awards, Capital Emmys and Virginia Association of Broadcasters Awards, among others.
VPM NEWS BY THE NUMBERS
• 29 reporters, hosts, producers and editors
• 4 visual journalists
• 3,000+ stories published across all news platforms
FY23-24
We listen to our audience. We use online tools and in-person events to listen to the community to inform what we cover. Curious Commonwealth is a new VPM News series that explores audience questions about Virginia — its quirks, its policies and its communities. The series won “Best Newcomer” at the 2023 Champions of Curiosity Awards.
VPM’S WIDE-RANGING NEWS COVERAGE
What’s New with VPM News?
In May 2024, VPM launched RVA’s Got Issues, a podcast aimed at helping Richmonders understand the politics in and around their region while putting the impact of those issues into perspective. Host Dr. Rich Meagher and the VPM team solicit feedback and questions from listeners on topics including year-round schooling, affordable housing, gun violence and more.
“I love VPM. I am so proud of the significant and creative work you are doing … and for bringing thoughtprovoking content about underserved communities and people. Brava!”
- Muriel Miller Branch, AMMD Pine Grove Project
How Does VPM News Make an Impact?
In addition to informing, VPM News stories are making a real difference in people’s lives. This was on display when VPM News provided coverage of Virginia’s Community Health Workers receiving $0 in the planned two-year budget, which resulted in the program ultimately being allotted $6 million.
Another example was the outcome of VPM News’ breaking coverage uncovering that the state of Virginia purged eligible voters before the 2023 elections in a newly redistricted map. The state Department of Elections then investigated the incident and discovered thousands of incorrectly removed voters.
In 2023, VPM launched the awardwinning podcast Admissible: Shreds of Evidence, which examined 13 wrongful convictions all tied to one forensic analyst, Mary Jane Burton. In 2024, Admissible continued to have an impact:
Host Tessa Kramer earned the 2024 Virginia Trial Lawyers Association’s (VTLA) Excellence in Journalism Award for her reporting.
The Commonwealth of Virginia ordered the Virginia State Crime Commission to review and report on all the case files of Burton to determine the number of her cases that resulted in convictions, executions and exonerations.
The New York Times cited Admissible as a catalyst for the exoneration of a man who spent 45 years in prison.
In 2024, VPM continued its partnership with Report for America to deliver additional news coverage to the Shenandoah Valley. Henry Brannan covered rural health care in the Valley and Charlottesville.
In collaboration with the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), VPM launched Policy Matters
Hosted by VPM's Benjamin Dolle and VPAP executive director Chris Piper, the monthly news radio segment highlights the top political and legislative issues.
BizSense Beat picked up speed in 2024 with more than 50 episodes informing Richmonders of the latest happenings in the business world in and around the region. The weekly news radio segment is co-hosted by VPM’s Benjamin Dolle and staff from Richmond BizSense
VPM ARTS & CULTURE
VPM PRIORITY: EXPAND OUR ARTS & CULTURAL OFFERINGS TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT UNITES US AS VIRGINIANS
Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley are home to a diverse population and an equally diverse arts and culture landscape. From our acquisition of Style Weekly to new and engaging digital content on YouTube, VPM is spotlighting the best of arts and culture in our area.
In April 2024, VPM launched a new YouTube channel called VPM Culture dedicated to sharing local stories about what unites us. The move was driven by shifts in how people consume content. “This channel was created in an effort to reach a new and younger audience who are interested in arts, culture, food and more,” said Jamila Walker, VPM’s Director of Digital Strategy. “This is also part of our digital strategy to be audience-first and engage people where they are.”
VPM Culture is home to several digital series, including Finding Edna Lewis and In the Pen with Roscoe Burnems.
ARTS & CULTURE BY THE NUMBERS
• 3,000+ new subscribers to Style Weekly’s newsletter
• Nearly 4,000 new followers across Style Weekly’s social media platforms
• 600+ people attended Style Weekly events
• Nearly 9,000 followers on Facebook for Virginia Home Grown
• Host Tassie Pippert visited her 75th winery for Un-Wine'd in 2024
• Over 218,000 people watched VPM Culture in 2024
In 2024, VPM and PBS premiered season three of The Great American Recipe, an uplifting cooking competition that celebrates the multiculturalism that makes American food so vibrant.
VPM Music has a long tradition of unique shows highlighting various music styles. In early 2024, VPM launched its music archive on VPM.org where listeners can find the latest episodes of shows like Classical with Mike Goldberg, Jazz Weeknights with Annie Parnell, John’s Porch, Time for the Blues, The Undertow with Annie Parnell and The Chill Factor with DJ B-Rice.
Un-Wine'd, another one of VPM’s longrunning programs, entered its sixth season in 2024. Host Tassie Pippert journeyed across Virginia to visit wineries and teach viewers about modern wine production and recipe pairings.
ARTS & CULTURE
ACROSS VIRGINIA
Now in its 24th season, Virginia Home Grown is one of VPM’s most popular productions, spotlighting gardening issues and initiatives and offering how-to demos by experts and plant enthusiasts from across Virginia. In June 2024, Virginia Home Grown stopped by the RVA Big Market to share gardening tips and promote the show’s new Green Production Initiative, which includes using solar-powered equipment, eliminating single-use plastics and more.
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Style Weekly has a rich history, one that we celebrate, but we believe in the power of evolution and change. Behind the scenes, our team worked tirelessly to craft this fresh, innovative identity that pays homage to our legacy while embracing the opportunities of tomorrow.
FOOD ISSUE 2024
Style Weekly Bolsters
VPM’s Arts & Culture Coverage
In March 2024, VPM re-launched the print edition of Style Weekly with quarterly issues and hosted events in Richmond, including a launch party and pop-up events. Writer and podcaster Deb Freeman served as Style Weekly’s food editor during the re-launch, leading coverage of
~ Style Weekly General Manager, Macaulay Hammond
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Richmond’s illustrious food and beverage scene, with an emphasis on the intersection of race, culture and food. She became the first African-American editor to lead food coverage at a major Richmond outlet.
In the summer of 2024, “Portraits: The Style Weekly Photograph Archive” premiered at The Valentine Museum in downtown Richmond. Spanning more than 40 years, the exhibit featured dozens of photographs from Style Weekly
Because of your generous support, VPM filmed season two of Life in the Heart Land, an award-winning docuseries that illuminates Virginia’s rural culture and the residents who are finding solutions to the challenges facing them.
The show and its corresponding events have had a profound impact: 140+ rural community organizations shared Life in the Heart Land content on social media in the time since the first season aired.
VPM EDUCATION
VPM PRIORITY: DEEPEN OUR SERVICE TO CHILDREN, EDUCATORS AND FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY
From Richmond to Harrisonburg, Charlottesville to Staunton and throughout Virginia, VPM serves a crucial role in the community as an educational partner for families, caregivers and educators of the Commonwealth’s children. Through our events, partnerships and programming, VPM provides families with books, toys and other learning resources to help kids in their earliest days of education.
EDUCATION BY THE NUMBERS
• 700+ event attendees at Charlottesville events
• 117 educators received Ready To Learn professional development
• 719 caregivers received Ready To Learn training
• 1,171 children participated in activities with Ready To Learn partners
• 398 books distributed through the Little Free Library
IMPACTING STUDENTS
By sharing educational resources and welcoming students to the VPM studios for tours, VPM makes a positive impact on students of all ages.
From Richmond to Harrisonburg, Charlottesville to Staunton and throughout Virginia, VPM serves a crucial role in the community as an educational partner for families, caregivers and educators of the Commonwealth’s children. Through events, partnerships and programming, VPM provides families with books, toys and other learning resources to help kids in their earliest days of education.
• In Charlottesville, VPM was proud to support The Paramount Theater’s 2023-2024 Arts Education Season.
• Eighth grade students from Sabot School were inspired to start their own podcast after touring VPM.
• VPM Science Matters hosted middle school participants in the “Your Life Your Destiny” program with the Henrico Foundation, after which, several students reported it was “the best day ever.”
Bringing Educational Resources to Parents and Caregivers
In October 2023, VPM, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS extended the reach and impact of the Ready To Learn initiative, which connects children’s media and learning environments to build key skills for success in school and life, including functional literacy, critical thinking and collaboration.
In 2024, VPM collaborated with Thrive Birth to Five to provide educational resources in eight Women, Infants and Children (WIC) offices across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. More than 16,000 people have access to these resources, and VPM is coordinating with additional WIC offices to expand to more facilities.
Science Matters to VPM
Through radio, television and the web, VPM’s Science Matters initiative inspires communities to value science and understand its importance to our future.
In July 2023, VPM and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) produced curriculum material aligned to Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) about climate change and computer science.
“In August 2023, VPM and Eastern Virginia Medical School produced “Compassionate Crisis Care,” a series of videos that teach healthcare professionals and first responders how to provide sympathetic care to patients during emergencies.
In April 2024, VPM and the VDOE created educational resources to help Virginians prepare for the solar eclipse. More than 13,000 people learned about eclipse glasses, why solar eclipses happen and how to build an eclipse viewer from VPM’s instructional YouTube video.
Our collaboration with VPM is an effort to reach out to families and the broader community to ensure that misconceptions about literacy development, and how these skills should be taught, are addressed. We look forward to continuing this awareness campaign to ensure that all children are successful readers and writers.
~ Dr. Emily Solari, Edmund H. Henderson professor of education and director of Virginia Literacy Partnerships at the University of Virginia.
Local Partnerships Making an Impact
The “Reading Doesn’t Just Happen” messaging campaign – a collaboration between VPM and Virginia Literacy Partnerships (VLP) – provides parents and caregivers with suggestions for
“simple, everyday actions to help lay the groundwork for reading success. In 2024, VPM, VLP and experts at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development produced a video teaching caregivers how to strengthen their children’s ability to read.
In 2023, VPM partnered with Excellence in Children’s Early Language and Literacy (ExCELL), a literacy-focused organization, to launch Learning Neighborhoods in two Richmond Public Schools
Thanks to your support, VPM receives letters like these:
“Thank you so much for graciously hosting the Your Life Your Destiny/ Henrico Foundation middle school group. I know the impact of the seeds planted are great. I am excited to see the shifts in perspective that will come from a moment like our tour at VPM.”
~ Stafford Armstead, mentor/teacher, Your Life Your Destiny of the Henrico Foundation
preschools and a Petersburg early childhood education center. In 2024, the program expanded to a third Richmond preschool.
In partnership with Smart Beginnings Greater Harrisonburg, VPM shared The Basics principles with dozens of organizations across the region, including Cargill, Blue Ridge Free Clinic, Kyger Funeral Home, Rockingham County Public Schools, Elkton Family Pharmacy and Augusta Health Center, to encourage child development through everyday activities at home.
THANK YOU
We are grateful to our donors, partners, community supporters and corporate sponsors for making our work and our 2023-2024 achievements possible. Your support has strengthened VPM and enabled us to make a positive, lasting difference with the work that we do.
WHY WE SUPPORT VPM
“I’m proud to support VPM. As a voter, I count on VPM to provide me with accurate, up-to-date information.”
“As avid listeners and watchers of VPM, we are so excited for the new headquarters on the epicenter of Broad Street.”
Carolyn & Bill Paulette Richmond
Dr. and Mrs. Ghulam Qureshi Richmond
“VPM stays true to its mission to educate, entertain and inspire. Every evening when we tune in, we find such a variety of programs that teach us something and we like that we can depend on the news shows for impartial information. Because VPM does this, they are very valuable to us and that is why we have been proud to support VPM for more than 30 years.”
“Trying to pinpoint what drives my commitment to VPM is impossible. Is it childhood memories of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street and the Electric Company? Or maybe NewsHour, which was a staple in my home growing up and is now a part of my weekly routine? Or perhaps it is VPM’s commitment to telling local Virginia stories, particularly those that highlight the humanity in all of us?
Public media has been an essential ingredient in my life and I want to know that VPM will continue to serve others when I am gone. That is why I have chosen to make VPM a beneficiary of my 401(k) retirement plan assets. The process could not have been easier: I simply identified VPM as the beneficiary and provided VPM’s tax identification number – all in a few clicks on my computer.”
Your estate gift to VPM will educate, entertain and inspire future generations. Contact Angie Hatcher Sledge at 804.560.8253 or asledge@vpm.org to learn more about planned giving options.
Rachel Keen Charlottesville
Patty Merrill, Vice Chair VPM Media Corporation Board of Directors
The trust and support that our donors give to VPM is unparalleled. As we reflect on the 2023-2024 fiscal year, we are thankful for and inspired by their donations, their time and their loyalty.
• Longtime VPM supporters Jacquelyn Pogue and Julie and Paul Weissend hosted more than 100 friends at the Weissend home to celebrate VPM’s plans to relocate to a state-of-the-art headquarters in downtown Richmond (Pictured Above).
• Former VPM Board member Todd Stansbury and his wife Patti Cary hosted several dozen guests at their home in Charlottesville to hear the latest updates on VPM’s plans to expand news coverage in the Charlottesville area.
• The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation awarded VPM a $750,000 challenge grant to support our new headquarters in downtown Richmond. In order to receive the award, VPM raised $1.7 million, exceeding the $1.5 million requirement.
RECEIVED DURING FY2023-2024
Your commitment and investment in VPM’s mission is the foundation of our success. Your support not only sustains our operations, but it enables us to carry out award-winning work. Thank you for helping to educate, entertain and inspire Virginians.
VPM FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
YOUR SUPPORT MADE A DIFFERENCE
FY24 VPM OPERATING REVENUES
$20,936,043
FY24 VPM OPERATING EXPENSES
$20,741,305
VPM Media Corporation Board of Directors
Irene Carney, Chair | Richmond
Patty Merrill, Vice Chair | Richmond
Nupa Agarwal | Richmond
Dr. Heather Coltman | Harrisonburg
Rich Diemer | Henrico
Philip Goodpasture | Richmond
Vann Graves | Richmond
Dennis A. McGaugh | Charlottesville
Enjoli Moon | Richmond
Dave Paulson | Charlottesville
Tassie Pippert | Harrisonburg
Karen Skidmore | Charlottesville
J.R. Snow | Harrisonburg
Ebony Walden | Richmond
Michael Williams | Richmond
Virginia Foundation for Public Media Board of Directors
Michael Williams, Chair | Richmond
Rich Diemer, Vice Chair | Henrico
Jim Cheng | Charlottesville
Sheila Corcoran | Richmond
Philip Goodpasture | Richmond
Patty Merrill | Richmond
Kevin Nicholson | Richmond
Karen Skidmore | Charlottesville
Ting Xu | Richmond
Ex-Officio
Jayme Swain
President and CEO, Virginia Foundation for Public Media
Gary Ometer
Chief Financial Officer, Virginia Foundation for Public Media
Daniel Smythe
Chief Investment Officer, Virginia Foundation for Public Media
ABOUT VPM
VPM Staff Leadership
Jayme Swain
President & CEO, VPM and the Virginia Foundation for Public Media
Meg Garner
Chief Operating Officer
Steve Humble
Chief Content Officer
Gary Ometer
Chief Financial Officer, VPM and the Virginia Foundation for Public Media
Dan Smythe
Chief Investment Officer, VPM and the Virginia Foundation for Public Media
As Virginia’s home for public media, VPM connects nearly 2 million people across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley to insightful programming in news, education, arts and culture across its television, radio and digital channels. The VPM News team delivers award-winning coverage of Virginia’s General Assembly; statewide politics; educational, economic and legal issues; as well as the news of the day. VPM produces acclaimed series and documentaries, plus a range of music shows with local hosts curating selections in classical, jazz, hip-hop and alternative music. VPM also creates content through its Science Matters initiative and provides early childhood educational resources to families, caregivers and educators. Since 2021, VPM has operated Style Weekly, a magazine centered on deeper arts and culture coverage and local storytelling.
VPM operates public television stations VPM PBS, VPM Plus, VPM PBS KIDS, lifestyle channel VPM Create and international program channel VPM WORLD, as well as Richmond public radio stations VPM News (88.9 FM) and VPM Music (107.3 FM, 93.1 FM and 88.9-HD2). In the Northern Neck (89.1 FM) and Southside Virginia (90.1 FM), listeners receive a combination of news and music.
Photography: Scott Elmquist, Monica Pedynkowski, Michael Simon | Illustration: Kal Bracey (Pg.10)