Connecticut Public President and CEO Mark G. Contreras has a lot to fight for.
He has a staff of 100 people and it is their jobs to work to inform, educate, and inspire the people of Connecticut.
They do it online and through Connecticut Public Television, CPTV, and Connecticut Public Radio, WNPR, growing for a half-century from one public TV station.
Now, however, Connecticut Public faces the estimated loss of $2.1 million after President Donald Trump signed a bill in July that cancelled about $1.1 billion that had previously been approved for public broadcasting.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting then, on Aug. 1, said it would begin the actions needed for its closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and even emergency alerts.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down after being defunded by Congress, targeted by Trump
Despite this, Contreras said, Connecticut Public will shoulder on.
It was named a Hartford Courant 2025 Top Workplace and each and every employee there contributed to the company, according to Contreras and Connecticut Public Vice President of Human Resources, Training and Development Sonja Pasquantonio.
Contreras said 60% of the employees at Connecticut Public are involved in some form of content creation and the other 40% are involved in a supporting role.
“Each one has a different story about why they are here,” he said.
Contreras gives credit to Pasquantonio for having a “massive role” in ensuring employees feel supported.
Pasquantonio said the goal is to make sure all of the employees feel connected.
For example, she said, in early March, as part of creating a culture of connection, they used the Hygge model with the intent to learn about different places while being cozy. Hygge is often described as taking steps to create an atmosphere to make people feel comfortable, cozy and convivial.
Pasquantonio said that, in that event, participating employees learned about different cultures and people came in cozy shoes and brought favorite blankets.
People could play or read and some shared some local food to support local businesses.
“The intent of this is bringing everyone together yes, Pasquantonio said, and it had “really great feedback.
“These kinds of events are so needed and valued,” Contreras said, noting the pent up demand for fellowship, to see and spend time with co-workers.
Contreras also noted work Pasquantonio does when any new employee starts, by spending time with them.
“We don’t care who you live with,” he said, but about the “the quality and quantity of your work.”
“It creates a very inclusive workforce we are going to encourage and train,” he said. “That is what we are going to care the most about.”
About the congressional votes to defund The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Contreras said the votes “on already appropriated money” were obviously “disappointing to all of us.”
He said an “all staff meeting” was held to lay out thoughts about near term and long term plans, and the Board of Directors was very supportive.
“We’re going to deliver the content that we are now delivering to the residents of Connecticut,” Contreras said. “We are not taking a meat axe to the programming.”
Contreras also noted, “we are going to have to figure out a way to generate new revenue or new products that can generate revenue.”
This means, “we’re going to have to extend our reach in terms of fundraising beyond what might be normal,” he said.
Contreras has explained this on the air to listeners, as have some on-air hosts,
One of the great things about working with so many journalists, Contreras said, is that they “read a lot, they know a lot. We pay them to be curious” and they are likely to have ideas.
He said he has been around politics for 40 some years and hopes and wishes and prays the defunding will get overturned.
He said he is “significantly heartened” by the amount of support coming out of Connecticut Public’s membership base and it “is very big, bigger than ever.” They will look at philanthropy, major donors and other funding sources either on a state or national level, he said.
According to the company, about 51% of its audience consumes content digitally, reaching an average of 1.2 million people a week, and support comes comes from more than 52,000 members, about half of whom are sustainers (about a third of overall revenue), corporate underwriting and major philanthropic gifts.
In addition to local news coverage, original documentaries, children’s educational programming and award-winning public affairs shows, Connecticut Public has locally produced talk shows: Where We Live with Catherine Shen; The Colin McEnroe Show; The Wheelhouse with Frankie Graziano; Disrupted with Khalilah Brown-Dean; Audacious with Chion Wolf, and has Lori Mack host of Morning Edition and John Henry Smith, host of All Things Considered.
While the Connecticut Public headquarters is on Farmington Avenue in Hartford, it has offices and studios at Gateway Community College in New Haven and Fairfield University in Fairfield.