by Gloria Vanderbrick, Bricklyn Eagle People in the New correspondent
A Rogue Schoolers couple considering the day’s travel plans during their visit to the Realm of Alsbrique in France. Note: all photos based on design and content input from W. Senville with assistance from Dall E-3 AI.
After last year’s integration of the Realm of Bricklyn into the French Republic (as part of France Outre-Mer) there has been a surge in Bricklynites traveling to the French Inland Realms. In part this has been the result of efforts by the non-profit Rogue Schoolers organization.
According to Hans Brickelmann, CEO of Rogue Schoolers, “we’re meeting the demand of Bricklynites from all walks of life to learn more about our new French friends.”
The new generation of Brick Air overseas jets. Photo courtesy of Brick Air.
Brickelmann also noted that “Rogue Schoolers has opened its trips to France to people of all ages, expanding on our traditional base of travelers over 50 years of age.”
Another important factor in the travel boom has been the roll out of Brick Air’s new high speed jet planes, which have cut travel time from Bricklyn to Strassbrick in half — from 30 hours to just under 15.
Thanks to assistance from Bricklyn’s Office of Outland Affairs, Rogue Schoolers has informally paired several of its itineraries with those of the Outland “Road Scholars” organization.
Several Bricklynites walking between canal locks, led by their guide Sammy Brickner (wearing her everyday hat and neck wrap).
➤ As reporter on this story, I have to acknowledge my bafflement about the name “Road Scholars,” as participants in Road Scholars travel programs are rarely scholars of transportation, let alone of vehicular transportation.
One of the recent Rogue Schooler programs involved a trip to the Alsbrique region of France. As a group of Road Scholars followed almost the identical itinerary, we encourage you to read the informative, yet engaging, trip reports by tour participant Wayne Senville that the Vermont chapter of The Alliance Française has posted on its website. The name Senville should sound familiar to our Bricklyn readers as Mr. Senville also serves as the Vermont-based Outland Liaison to Bricklyn’s Office of Outland Affairs.
Vermont Bricklynites had several opportunities during their trip to meet up with new friends from the Realm of Alsbrique, France. In this initial meeting the Alsbriqueastians wore traditional attire, while the Bricklynites also wore their own traditional attire.
Bricklynites looking up at Alsbrique’s famous Petit Château Brickingsbourg.
We caught up with Mr. Senville yesterday, shortly after his daily afternoon siesta.
Senville told us he was able to meet up with the Bricklyn Rogue Schoolers group several times because of his status as Outland Liaison. But, as he explained, “because of Bricklyn privacy laws, I was not able to share knowledge of these rendezvous during my trip with anyone in our Road Scholars group other than my spouse, Lila. I hope others in our group understand that while I would have liked to have had them meet the Bricklynites, this was just not possible.”
However, as Senville noted, “now that the trip is over, I can share some of the photos I took of the Bricklyn Rogue Schoolers, led by their excellent guide, ‘Sammy’ Brickner.” We’ve inserted several of Senville’s AI-assisted photos into this post.
Fourteen Bricklyn Rogue Schoolers say farewell to the Mad Elaine and several of its crew. The Mad Elaine served as the Bricklynites’ “péniche-croisière” during most of their time in Alsbrique.
Bricklyn Alliance Française members celebrate the dedication of the organization’s completely renovated offices, classrooms, and cinema/theater.
We should also note the active role that both the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Bricklyn Chapter of the Alliance Française has played in strengthening links between the Realm of Bricklyn and several French realms, including the Realm of Alsbrique.
From Editor Walt Brickman: Pat Doherty has been one of The Bricklyn Eagle’s most loyal readers, and has over the years written a number of helpful Letters to the Editor about article we have posted. At this time when she is facing end-of-life challenges, we want to both thank her and let her know that our thoughts and prayers are with her.
by Paul B. Macro, Bricklyn Eagle Business & Economics Correspondent
After lengthy negotiations with Bricklyn Eagle publisher Jeff Brickzos, The Bricklyn Eagle’s staff of 20 full-time and 12 part-time employees voted to adopt an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that will transfer ownership and control of The Eagle from the Brickzos Family Trust to the newspaper’s employees. It will be the first ESOP implemented in Bricklyn under the Realm’s “Employee Stock Ownership Plan Review Act” (ESOP-RA) enacted in 2023.
While most Outland readers will only be familiar with the selection of Bricklyn Eagle articles posted here at BricklynVT.com, The Eagle’s primary market consists of the more than 65,000 residents of the Tripartite Realm of Bricklyn.
The Bricklyn Eagle is the only daily paper serving the Realm’s three cities, and currently has a print circulation of just under 11,000, down from a 2015 peak of 13,500. The Eagle, however, has a growing digital subscriber base of over 17,000. This includes print subscribers who automatically receive access to The Eagle’s online edition.
The Eagle also serves as the “newspaper of record” for legal postings made by the League of Inland Cities, which is headquartered in Bricklyn.
Bricklyn Eagle publisher Jeff Brickzos (left) and Bricklyn Eagle editor Walt Brickman (right) discussing details of the transition to an ESOP. Credit: Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with help from Dall E-3 AI.
The Eagle’s ESOP, as required by Bricklyn’s ESOP Review Act, needed approval from the Federal Council of the Realm of Bricklyn, which the Council gave by unanimous vote at its meeting last night.
The Bricklyn Eagle’s ESOP will, over the next three years, transfer the Brickzos Family’s ownership and control into a new trust held on behalf of The Eagle’s employees.
For the coming fiscal year (starting this July 1st), the Brickzos Family Trust will remain the paper’s principal owner. But over the following two years, the balance will shift until The Eagle is fully owned by its employees.
“I have always said The Eagle is run by a dedicated and talented staff,” Jeff Brickzos told members of the Federal Council, “and now they will also own the paper they proudly work for.”
Practical Idealism
Both full-time and part-time staff members will begin accumulating ownership stakes through the ESOP trust, without purchasing shares directly. Instead, the newspaper itself will fund the transition over time.
A new board of directors will also be seated on July 1st, including three members selected by the Brickzos Family Trust, and two by vote of the paper’s employees. For the following fiscal year (2027-2028) the Family Trust will hold just two directors’ seats, while three will be filled by Eagle employees. Finally, for FY 2028-2029 and beyond, the board will be comprised only of directors selected by The Eagle’s employees.
Editor Walt Brickman (left) discussing proposed ESOP with reporter Samantha B. Fortune (center) and office manager Diane Plater Jensen (right). Fortune and Jensen were elected by the Eagle staff to serve as their representatives on the new Board of Directors to be seated on July 1, 2026. Credit: Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with help from Dall E-3 AI.
Bricklyn Eagle editor Brickman called the employee stock ownership plan “a wager that the people closest to the work will also be closest to the newspaper’s purpose.”
As Brickman added, “we had a vote of confidence when over three-quarters of our staff gave their thumbs 👍👍👍 up to adopting the ESOP.”
“One very important factor behind the strong support for the ESOP,” continued Brickman, “was the solid financial analysis — really a stress test of The Eagle — conducted by a team from Brickwell Financial Services, showing the paper’s capacity to thrive under employee ownership, while highlighting pitfalls to avoid. This analysis was vital to building confidence, and was done very early in our process of thinking through whether the ESOP option made sense.”
While still rare, employee ownership in newspapers has gained renewed attention as local outlets search for alternatives to hedge-fund consolidation and closure.
“This is not nostalgia,” said Professor Nora Tiler Tipton of Bricklyn University’s School of Civic Media. “It’s a forward-looking approach. The question is whether you can successfully steer a local newspaper through an employee-run board.”
“The transition also raises a number of tough questions,” Tipton added, “some brought up during the Federal Council’s hearing, such as whether employee-owners can make difficult budget cuts, for instance those that might result in staff layoffs, and whether the paper’s reporters would pull punches when covering actions of the newspaper they have become part owners of.”
To address these and other concerns, both Walt Brickman and Jeff Brickzos pledged that an “Editorial Independence Policy” will be drafted by The Eagle’s new Board of Directors soon after they are seated.
What will the future hold for The Bricklyn Eagle? It’s too early to tell, but one thing is clear, it will be in The Eagle’s employees’ hands. ✥
To the Editor: Hey Bricklyn Eagle. How come you didn’t mention Seven Days, that top-notch newspaper just across the border from you in Burlington, Vermont. While I don’t think they have an ESOP, I thought some of their employees were also part-owners of the paper. I double-checked on their website and here’s what they say: “Founded in 1995 by Pamela Polston and Paula Routly, Seven Days is now owned and run by Routly and a group of longtime employees.” Seven Days also says it gets financial support “from grateful “Super Readers” who make one-time or monthly contributions.” — Brandy D., Burlington, VT.
Reply from the Editor: We regret that due to article length constraints we were unable to include mention of not just Seven Days, but the Barton Chronicle, as well as thriving nonprofits (another ownership model) such as VTDigger and Vermont Public, both of which offers excellent local statewide news coverage, as well as the CCTV Center for Media & Democracy, which covers Burlington and Chittenden County. There’s truly a cornucopia of great news reporting being done by nonprofits and small community newspapers in Vermont — and there are many more than those I just named!
To the Editor: Did your reporter use AI to write this story? Sure sounds to me like he did. And how much of an “employee” share will you be giving to Mr. or Ms. ChatGPT, or to their friends Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude? It won’t be long before they end up owning, operating, and writing all the “news” you publish in The Bricklyn Eagle. — Charlie B., South Bricklyn, VT.
Reply from the Editor: I discussed your concerns with Paul B. Macro, our long-time business correspondent who authored this article. He indicated that he used ChatGPT AI as an aid in conducting research, while also independently verifying sources noted by ChatGPT. This is in keeping with Bricklyn Eagle, as well as Realm of Bricklyn, policies for dealing with AI. For more on this, see On the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence by The Bricklyn Eagle (Dec. 8, 2025) and Preliminary Guidance on the Use of Generative AI by Media & Government Agencies (Mar. 1, 2024).
I should note that prior to publication we also run all articles through an AI detection check by Pangram. Here is a screenshot of the summary we received for Mr. Macro’s 726 word article (note the final word count varies from this due to some changes in my editing of his article).
