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Homegoings
Homegoings cover art
Homegoings

The Vermont Public CEO on public media funding cuts and the future

By Myra Flynn
Published September 18, 2025 at 6:18 PM EDT

In this episode, Vermont Public CEO Vijay Singh sat down with Homegoings host Myra Flynn just two days after Vermont Public eliminated 15 positions and changed two full-time positions to part-time as a direct result of the loss of federal funds. This is their conversation.

Homegoings is a show that invites you to eavesdrop on candid conversations with people who will challenge what you think you know, and YOU are welcome here. Follow the show here.

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A picture of a man in a suit surrounded by flowers and the color green. He is smiling
 Photo: Laura Nakasaka / Graphic: Kyle Ambusk
/
Vermont Public
“It's our job to reflect our community. I mean, this is the beauty of the sort of federated system we have. We should do our best to represent all the different literal types of voices in the communities we serve.” — Vijay Singh

In August of last year, Vermont Public, our organization, got a new CEO. Vijay Singh. He came to us by way of two public radio stations in California: LAist, (formerly KPCC) in Los Angeles, and most recently Capital Radio, in Sacramento. This is Vijay's first time being a CEO, though he has had a hand in leading and ushering companies through times of deep change, including digital transitions at those radio-forward organizations. He also learned how to quickly put out some fires, in that most recent job, as Chief Operating and Content Officer at CapRadio. A skill that was put to the test just nine months into his tenure at Vermont Publicm after Congress voted to rescind more than $1 billion in federal funding for public media.

On August 27, Vermont Public eliminated 15 positions at the organization and shifted two full-time roles to part-time. Those cuts amounted to a 14% reduction in Vermont Public’s workforce. In an interview after the announcement, Vijay said the layoffs were a direct result of the loss of federal funds.

This conversation, between Vijay and Homegoings host Myra Flynn happened just two days after.

Mike Dunn
/
Vermont Public
What really bothers me is this was targeted at NPR and PBS. The funding that we lost disproportionately impacts local stations, and even more so, local stations in rural and low income areas. And so when I saw that news, that's where my mind went. If this sticks, and if more people sort of believe this angle and buy into this angle, America is worse off.
Vijay Singh

Credits

This episode was hosted and reported by Myra Flynn with help from James Stewart. Our producer/director is Mike Dunn and Aaron Edwards is our story editor. Myra composed the theme music with other music by Blue Dot Sessions. Kyle Ambusk is the graphic artist behind this episode’s Homegoings artist portrait.

Thank you for listening. You can see a video version of this episode on our YouTube Channel.

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Myra Flynn
Myra Flynn joined Vermont Public in March 2021 and is the Host and Executive Producer of Homegoings. Raised in Vermont, Myra Flynn is an accomplished musician who has come to know the lay of dirt-road land that much more intimately through touring both well-known and obscure stages all around the state and beyond. She also has experience as a teaching artist and wore many hats at the Burlington Free Press, including features reporter and correspondent, before her pursuits took her deep into the arts world. Prior to joining Vermont Public, Myra spent eight years in the Los Angeles music industry.
See stories by Myra Flynn