Senator defends state funding of news media

Mar 16 2026 / VermontDailyChronicle

The Green Mountain State is experimenting with a new way to fund media, through a little-known initiative attached to the 2026 state budget, initially proposed by Sen. Andrew Perchlik, D-Washington.

As covered by VDC, this effort has brought about questions regarding the ethics of public funds supporting the same outlets tasked to watch over public policy. In an interview on Feb. 19 in the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ room, Perchlik agreed to discuss its constitutional, legal, and philosophical viability.

It’s also been revealed that some of the same media receiving such funds will cover the senator’s district.

Does state-funded media violate the First Amendment?

Perchlik was asked if state-sponsored media might violate the Compelled Speech Doctrine of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. According to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, this doctrine “sets out the principle that the government cannot force an individual or group to support certain expression.”

Perchlik said, “I don’t understand the argument that it would be contrary to [the laws regarding] compelled speech. I would be interested to hear it. I think it’s an interesting argument.”

Critics of the ruling party largely left out

It was noted that one of Vermont’s majority party’s staunchest critics, The Vermont Daily Chronicle, was not selected for funds.

—

Is state-funded media legal?

On May 1, 2025, the White House issued a press release titled, “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ends the Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.”

The release states, “Unlike in 1967, when CPB [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options, making government funding of news media outdated, unnecessary, and corrosive to journalistic independence.”

It continues, “No media outlet has a Constitutional right to taxpayer subsidized operations, and it’s highly inappropriate for taxpayers to be forced to subsidize biased, partisan content.”

https://vermontdailychronicle.com/senator-defends-state-funding-of-news-media/