www.HartfordBusiness.com • June 18, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 3
Newsmakers
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Jerry Franklin | President and CEO, Connecticut Public
By John Stearns
jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
Jerry Franklin, president and CEO of Connecti-
cut Public, which includes public radio station
WNPR, announced in May that he will retire at
the end of June 2019, ending what by then will be
34 years at the helm — or about 31 more than he
expected when he started in 1985.
At that time, he had a $4 million budget and a
$1 million deficit to resolve. By building market
share and a fundraising model, the deficit was
paid off within the year, he said.
Connecticut Public's budget today is about
$22 million and its staff has nearly doubled to
97 as the educational and news divisions have
increased substantially, he said.
Entering his last year, Franklin, 70, reflected
on his long run at Connecticut Public, compris-
ing Connecticut Public Television, Connecticut
Public Radio, Connecticut Public Learning and
other programs.
What are you most proud of accomplishing at
Connecticut Public?
There are five things I am particularly proud of:
1. When experts said a purple dinosaur wouldn't
penetrate the children's market, we proved them
wrong by producing "Barney & Friends." Barney
turned out to be the most popular children's show
in public media history. Barney was not only an
incredible public service, but also a sustaining
income stream for us for more than 25 years.
2. I'm also proud to have brought UConn
women's basketball to Connecticut television au-
diences. Many people thought that wouldn't take
hold, but it turned out to be the most popular
local public media series in the country.
3. Switching from classical music program-
ming on WNPR to an all-news and public affairs
format was controversial in 2006, but we have
more than doubled our audience.
4. I'm proud that I will leave Connecticut Pub-
lic with a solid financial foundation, including an
endowment of over $50 million.
5. The three women in my life, Ida, my wife and
high school sweetheart, my daughter, Jennifer,
and my granddaughter, Madison, are the not-
too-secret, greatest joys in my life.
Is there anything you didn't accomplish that you
wish you would have?
We haven't figured out how to penetrate Fairfield
County in a way that matches our Hartford County
presence. I'm confident that is still achievable.
What's the biggest change you've witnessed in
the media landscape?
The incredible choices available to people to see
and hear TV, radio and digital programming. How
and where we watch has completely changed, but
that is both a challenge and opportunity. The more
dramatic change that concerns me is the lack of
trust people have in their media. This idea that the
media is the "enemy of the people" — that's a shock
to me. That erosion of trust is bad for everyone.
Is there a favorite story or program that stands
out during your time there?
Years ago, we broadcast a controversial show
called "Death of a Princess." It was a drama-docu-
mentary that contained content the Saudi govern-
ment opposed, and there was political pressure to
censure the broadcast. The president, the secretary
of state, leaders of Congress all opposed us airing
it. Since we are not in the business of censoring our
content, we and many other PBS stations through-
out the country did air it. We stood tall under pres-
sure and I'm proud of that.
What's one thing people don't know about you?
I raise grass-fed beef on my farm in Savannah,
Ga., and I have 75 rosebushes in my garden in
Farmington. They say a man who grows roses is
a happy man.
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Jerry Franklin outside CT Public's Hartford office.
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