The Burlington Free Press (BFP or the Free Press) is a digital and print community news organization based in Burlington, Vermont, and owned by USA Today Co. It is one of the official "newspapers of record" for the State of Vermont.
It was founded on June 15, 1827, as a weekly paper and turned daily in 1848 in response to the invention of the telegraph. Today, the Burlington Free Press is part of the USA Today Network and offers local news coverage both in print and online.
Current format
The Burlington Free Press print product is a "tall tab" newspaper that contains specialized sections that cover business, arts & entertainment, sports, food and local history. As a part of the USA Today Network, the Free Press also includes a daily inserted section from USA TODAY that covers national politics, entertainment and sports.
Coverage area
The Burlington Free Press mainly reports on stories that occur in Chittenden County with a focus on the towns of Burlington, Essex, South Burlington, Williston, Colchester, Winooski and Shelburne.
Stories from the Associated Press and from the national USA Today Network are also pulled in to the Burlington Free Press website and printed paper to help round out coverage.
Online presence
The Burlington Free Press website carries both local and national stories, videos and live streams and offers a digital-only subscription as an alternative or supplement to print delivery.
Non-subscribers are limited to five articles per month before they need to subscribe to see more content.
History
Early history The Burlington Free Press began as a weekly publication on June 15, 1827. It was created by lawyers Seneca Austin and Luman Foote in response to the 1828 presidential election cycle. The Burlington Sentinel, another Burlington newspaper, favored Andrew Jackson while the Free Press, under Austin and Foote, supported incumbent President John Quincy Adams.
The format of the weekly Burlington Free Press was four pages, with five columns of copy on each page. The paper itself was 18 inches long. The weekly newspaper published every Friday.
The Burlington Free Press became a daily newspaper on April 1, 1848, in response to the invention of the telegraph that brought more up-to-date news to the Burlington area. The first telegraph message was received in Burlington on February 2, 1848.
Editor DeWitt Clinton Clarke (1846-1853) made the following statement regarding the telegraph:"We trust it did not escape the notice of our readers that our Saturday evening's paper contained news from New York of that very afternoon – half past two o'clock! The wonders achieved by the telegraph are absolutely incredible if one attempts to reflect on the subject."The daily Burlington Free Press was published in the evening every day except Sunday to offset the leading Burlington morning paper, The Daily Sentinel. The weekly edition was continued on Fridays until March 29, 1923.
The format of the daily Burlington Free Press consisted of one column of editorial, three columns of political and general news, half a column of state and local news and 100 words or less of telegraphic news (reported from afar and transferred via telegraph to Burlington). 15 columns were dedicated to advertisements and "uncalled for letters", a list of people who had not collected their mail from the postmaster.
The daily Burlington Free Press paper cost subscribers $4 a year and was not an immediate success. It had only 275 subscribers in its first year. The population of Burlington was 7,000 at the time. Compare this to the weekly Burlington Free Press which had a circulation of 1,200.
Early coverage included letters from the battlefields of the Civil War, women's suffrage and prohibition.
Under ownership of George Wyllys Benedict and his son George G. Benedict (owners 1853–1897), the paper was strongly and vocally opposed to slavery, which was the issue of the day.
In 1868, the Free Press Association was formed and purchased the Burlington Daily Times, a daily morning newspaper founded by former Burlington Free Press owner and editor DeWitt Clinton Clarke after he sold the Burlington Free Press in 1853 to G.W. Benedict. The Burlington Free Press absorbed the Burlington Daily Times and was suddenly publishing both a morning and an evening edition.
In 1872, The Daily Sentinel, the Burlington Free Press major competitor in the morning newspaper market closed its doors. The Free Press ceased publishing the evening edition and continued as a morning paper in 1882. In 1890, circulation of the daily Free Press was 3,250.
In 1894, the Free Press employed Walter J. Bigelow as night editor. He remained in this position until 1909. A Republican, he served as mayor of Burlington from 1907 to 1909. The Free Press installed the first Linotype printing press in Vermont in 1895.
In 1900, circulation of the daily Free Press was 4,649. That increased to 7,366 in 1907, 8,569 in 1914 and 11,459 in 1922. In the end of 1922, the Burlington Free Press stopped publication of the Friday weekly edition. In 1927, the Free Press had 14,468 subscribers.
Photo-engraving was added to the Burlington Free Press''' capabilities in 1929 and the paper was able to produce photo news coverage.
In 1932, the circulation of the daily Free Press was 16,554 and increased to 23,500 only fifteen years later in 1947. In 1950, the Free Press had 26,703 subscribers. That number rose to 33,225 in 1962.
In the 1960s and 1970s, The Burlington Free Press remained a Republican newspaper in a state that was slowly moving across the political spectrum toward Democratic. The Free Press stood behind Richard Nixon throughout the Watergate scandal.
The Burlington Free Press merged with Gannett. Co., Inc. based in Rochester, N.Y. in 1971.
The Sunday edition of the Burlington Free Press was introduced in 1975 and it became the first seven-day newspaper in Vermont.
Recent history In June 2012, the Burlington Free Press switched from broadsheet to all-color tall tabloid format.
March 30, 2014 was the first edition of the Free Press that included the USA TODAY insert showing national news and national sports reporting.
In June 2015, Gannett Company split into two entities: TEGNA and Gannett Company, Inc. The Burlington Free Press fell under the new Gannett Company Inc., which is the publishing side of the old Gannett Company. Gannett Co. Inc. owns USA TODAY, over 100 daily newspapers and nearly 1,000 weekly newspapers.
In February 2024, the newspaper announced it will switch print delivery from carrier to postal.
Headquarters From the creation of the Burlington Free Press in 1827 to 1833, the offices were located in Burlington, Vermont on the north side of Court House Square, now City Hall Park, on College St. between Church and St. Paul Streets.
In 1833, new owner Henry B. Stacy built new offices on College Street between South Winooski Avenue and Church Street. He retained the upper floors of the building as a residence for his family.
The offices on College Street continued to grow, and additional space surrounding the building was purchased until it comprised twelve buildings. The buildings were connected by ramps, tunnels and sky-walks to allow freedom of movement for workers in the winter months.
In September 2013, seven of the twelve buildings were sold to the Handy family. The Burlington Free Press held on to the five buildings on South Winooski Ave. that housed the printing press, mail room and circulation department.
On January 20, 2014, the Burlington Free Press offices moved from College Street to occupy the new facility at 100 Bank St.
In 2021, the Burlington Free Press moved out of offices in downtown Burlington to leased space in nearby Williston, VT.
Size and format changes The Burlington Free Press has had many size changes and format changes throughout its history, the most drastic of which was in June 2012 when it switched from broadsheet to an all-color "tall tab" format.
Burlington Free Press (weekly edition) DateColumn widthNumber of pages1827-183664June 12, 184074February 17, 185484July 3, 186894July 7, 188288July 25, 188468November 9, 188878July 7, 1898812January 21, 1904712
Burlington Free Press (daily edition) DateColumnsPagesApril 1, 184854January 2, 186664January 4, 186974July 3, 188284December 14, 188568January 6, 189278August 6, 189588January 15, 1904710February 20, 1922812November 3, 1939818January 4, 1957918January 1, 1968822September 1, 19775VariedJanuary 1, 20007VariedJune 7, 2012Tabloid formatVaried
Awards The Burlington Free Press has won numerous awards and accolades honoring both its reporters and its online presence.
Under ownership and management of the Benedict family (1853-1897), the Free Press was listed several times on the 100 best newspapers in the United States list.
Pulitzer Prize The Burlington Free Press was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for Editorial Writing by Aki Soga and Michael Townsend. Specifically for their campaign that resulted in the state's first reform of open government laws in 35 years.
RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards The Free Press has won many Edward R. Murrow Awards, a distinction that has historically been reserved for television and radio publications. YearCategoryArticleAuthor(s)Link to articleSource2014National Award - Small Online News Organization - Breaking News"River Rescue in Jericho"Ryan Mercer2015National Award - Small Online News Organization - Breaking News"Protesters in Governor's Office"Kevin Hurley and Ryan MercerNational Award - Small Online News Organization - Overall ExcellenceBurlingtonFreePress.comNational Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Sports Reporting"The Need For Speed"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Breaking News"Protectors in Governor's Office"Kevin Hurley and Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Sports Reporting"The Need For Speed"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Feature Reporting"Road to the Big Time Starts Here"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Overall ExcellenceBurlingtonFreePress.comRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - WebsiteBurlingtonFreePress.com2016National Award - Small Online News Organization - Reporting Sports (Video)"Slowing Down, Marathon Style"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Overall Excellence"Nectar's takes a look back after 40 years"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Feature"Baseball on Christmas Eve in Vermont?"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - Video Sports Reporting"Slowing Down, Marathon Style"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - WebsiteBurlingtonFreePress.com2017Regional Award - Small Online News Organization - Overall Excellence"From planes to protests and everything in between"Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - "Trump in Burlington stirs emotions on both sides"Dave Link, Josh Coffee, Nick Gentile, Kevin Hurley and Ryan MercerRegional Award - Small Online News Organization - "Protest march by Bernie Sanders supporters turns into fight over Miss. State flag"Ryan Mercer
New England Newspaper and Press Association The Free Press, in the category "Daily newspapers, Circulation <30,000" has won several awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association (also known as "NENPA").