It was U.S. Senator Paul Simon (not the famed musician), who set Mark Contreras on course to become president of Connecticut Public, parent company of Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR) and Connecticut Public Television (CPTV). Contreras was working for the Illinois senator back in the ‘80s when the politician told him something that would ultimately shape […]
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It was U.S. Senator Paul Simon (not the famed musician), who set Mark Contreras on course to become president of Connecticut Public, parent company of Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR) and Connecticut Public Television (CPTV).
Contreras was working for the Illinois senator back in the ‘80s when the politician told him something that would ultimately shape his future.
“At dinner one night he said, ‘I love being a senator, but I made much more of a difference as a newspaper publisher,’ ” Contreras recalled. “And that really stuck with me.”
Because of it, upon completing his MBA at Harvard Business School, Contreras decided to embark on a career in journalism.
Instead of writing, however, he channeled his energy into managing various aspects of the newspaper business, successfully climbing the ladder to become president and publisher of The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, then senior vice president of Pulitzer Inc. in St. Louis, and senior vice president of Cincinnati-based publisher E.W. Scripps after that.
In 2011, Contreras was named CEO of Calkins Media, a publishing, broadcasting, and digital media company widely known for its pioneering approach to video and streaming content.
And when the company was sold five years later, it opened the door for Contreras to pursue a long-time interest in academia, and he accepted the role of Dean at Quinnipiac’s School of Communications.
Before long, opportunity knocked yet again, and in March of this year, he took over for long-time president Jerry Franklin to become CEO of Connecticut Public.
“The mission of Connecticut Public is about as pure as exists in the media business,” he said. “So if somebody wants to join a mission-driven organization and make a real dent, make a real impact on the world, there’s very few organizations like this, that allows you to do that.”
Part of the dent Contreras hopes to make is utilizing digital strategies to reach a wider audience, a prospect he considers exciting.
“There’s a lot of potential in digital that I see, in being able to reach new groups of people, differently than we do today.”
To do so, he plans to spearhead research into how Connecticut residents consume media in terms of content and the devices they use most frequently to access it.
“I want to take that research and be able to fill in some gaps based on what people say they want, compared to what we currently offer. Over time, I’d like us to become a national model for how local public media organizations grow their audience and grow the relevance of impact on the communities they serve.”
As the new leader of Connecticut Public, he also hopes to generate more unique content, creating something that viewers can’t find anywhere else.
“That could mean local investigative journalism,” he said. “It could mean shows involving restaurants, it could mean focusing particularly on small towns and local communities that don’t get any attention.”
Equally important is providing a meaningful work experience for the people employed by Connecticut Public, who, according to Contreras, have an extraordinary level of commitment.
“One of the goals in any challenge I take on is that people look back after some period of time, five or 10 years, and realize they’ve had some of their best professional years because of the creativity they’ve been able to unleash in themselves. And that, along the way, they’ve had some fun doing it. So if we can accomplish that for all the employees of Connecticut Public, I will consider it a success.”
