After 20 years as local host of Morning Edition, Mitch Wertlieb is passing the mic to colleague and All Things Considered co-host Jenn Jarecki. Wertlieb will stay at Vermont Public to host The Frequency, Vermont Public’s daily news podcast, beginning this fall.
“Twenty years is a long time to do anything, even when you cherish it,” Mitch said in a reflection about his time hosting Morning Edition. “After so many years having the alarm clock assert itself each morning before 4 a.m., I've made a decision to step away from my morning show hosting duties and explore a new chapter of work at Vermont Public that doesn't take quite the toll on mind and body as Morning Edition demands.”
Mitch’s final Morning Edition will be on Friday, July 28 from 6-9 a.m., and will feature special guests and celebrate his incredible run. If you’d like to send a “thank you!” message to Mitch as he moves into this new adventure, we’ll be airing as many as we can during the show. You can email a voice memo to hello@vermontpublic.org or leave us a message at 802-552-8899.
"For so many of us, Mitch's steady presence on the air over the past two decades has almost made him synonymous with VPR, and now Vermont Public,” said Angela Evancie, interim senior vice president of content. “And yet he is also uniquely himself: a rare host whose integrity is never in question, whose humanity never falters and whose jokes never fall flat (unless you don’t like puns!). "Aren't we lucky, then, that he is not leaving Vermont Public, but merely changing gears. I can't wait to hear his distinctive voice on The Frequency — and I'm equally thrilled that Jenn Jarecki will be bringing hers to Morning Edition. I have every confidence that Jenn will carry the show into a new chapter with skill and grace."
With new host Jenn Jarecki, Morning Edition is still everything you need it to be – timely, relevant, essential daily listening – with a trusted voice you already know.
“I am deeply honored by and immensely grateful for the opportunity to spend each weekday morning with our listeners as Vermont Public's new Morning Edition host,” Jenn said. “Serving our local and regional communities in this role is, for me, an unparalleled and monumental privilege. I'm humbled to have the blessing of the inimitable Mitch Wertlieb, who was my friend for years before we ever met and who continues to be an exemplary model of all a host can be.”
Jenn’s first official day as host of Morning Edition will be Monday, July 31. As Jenn moves to mornings, Mary Engisch will become the full-time host of All Things Considered.
"Mitch is one of the most thoughtful hosts and journalists I’ve ever known,” said Scott Finn, Vermont Public president & CEO. “Thank you for all those early-morning alarms and snowy drives. Thanks for guiding us through trauma and sharing moments of joy with such humanity. And thank you for paying attention to the little things that mean so much — the jokes, the music, the sports highlights. They've made mornings special on Vermont Public for 20 years."
