Geeta Anand named editor-in-chief of VTDigger

Geeta Anand, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian American journalist, author and university dean, has been named the next editor-in-chief of VTDigger, a Vermont based leading U.S. investigative online newspaper. Her first day with VTDigger is July 1.

Anand has worked as a journalist for nearly 30 years as a foreign correspondent in India for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and covered City Hall for the Boston Globe. She wrote “The Cure,” a book about a father’s fight to find a cure for his terminally sick children, which was adapted into the film, “Extraordinary Measures” starring Harrison Ford. Most recently, she served as dean of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

In the early 1990s, Anand covered southern Vermont and the City of Rutland for The Rutland Herald, where she uncovered across-the-board errors in Vermont by one of the nation’s biggest credit reporting companies, prompting Congress to pass a new law.

READ: Sunderesh Heragu receives IEOM Global Engineering Education Award (November 29, 2024)

Eager to hone her investigative reporting skills, Anand eventually left the Herald for bigger news publications. But even as she did so, she promised her husband, Greg Kroitzsh, a Vermonter whose parents ran the Salt Ash Inn in Plymouth, that they would return one day in the future, when she hoped to bring all of her skills and experience to lead a news publication.

“This job is really coming full circle for Greg and me,” Anand said. “It has always been our dream to come back to Vermont, and this job gives us the chance to do that in a way that is truly meaningful as a journalist and journalism leader.”

In her role at VTDigger, Anand will lead the 20-plus VTDigger newsroom to excel in its mission to produce rigorous journalism that explains complex issues, promotes public accountability and fosters democratic and civic engagement.

“I look forward to working with VTDigger’s staff and board to develop a bold and ambitious vision for our newsroom’s future,” Anand said. “We will together find a way to enable our newsroom to take on the biggest, boldest investigative projects while also continuing to cover the most important news in our state,” she said. “My first task will be mentoring and supporting our editorial staff in achieving these goals while also leading sustainable lives.”

“I will also relish supporting CEO Sky Barsch in raising the funds to make VTDigger’s journalism sustainable, and in continuing to create a supportive newsroom culture,” she continued. “It is fundamental to enabling our reporters and editors having the emotional resilience to produce courageous journalism over the long term.”

Barsch said Anand’s appointment marks a defining moment for Vermont journalism, one that will shape the future of independent news in the state.

“Geeta Anand is not only one of the most extraordinary journalists of our time, she’s also a visionary with a gift for inspiring and empowering those around her,” Barsch said. “The excitement we feel about her joining our team is matched only by the impact her leadership will have on the state of Vermont.”

Gaye Symington, president of the Vermont Journalism Trust, VTDigger’s parent organization, highlighted the importance of VTDigger’s new editorial leadership.

“That a leader of Geeta’s caliber is eager to move across the country to lead VTDigger’s newsroom is a powerful testament to the quality of our journalism and its impact on Vermont,” Symington said.

In 2023, Anand was honored by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ NorCal), alongside California State Senator Steven Glazer, with the Distinguished Service to Journalism Award for contributions to the advancement or advocacy of journalism in Northern California.

The award celebrates their collective efforts to establish the California Local News Fellowship program, a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.