Bresnahan joins IPM and WTVP as President and CEO

Maurice "Moss" Bresnahan will become the new president and CEO of Illinois Public Media and WTVP (Peoria) on Sept. 2.

Bresnahan, who most recently served as president and CEO of KCTS-TV in Seattle, has extensive experience in public media, having served as CEO of South Carolina ETV and Public Radio Network, and general manager of WVPT-TV in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Bresnahan’s first job in public media was in the Quad Cities as general manager of WQPT-TV, Moline, and KQCT-TV in Davenport, Iowa, where he worked from 1992 to 1997.

The joint management agreement between WILL and WTVP began in the fall of 2013 under the leadership of Chet Tomczyk, who will retire in August from both WTVP and Illinois Public Media. The unusual cooperative executive leadership arrangement was designed to increase collaboration between the stations, benefiting the audiences and communities they serve.

“We have two great stations here and the staff at each is so dedicated and has such a great legacy,” Bresnahan said. “With the changing media marketplace and the digital world, I think we’re in a great position to work together to really meet the new demands of public service that go along with public broadcasting, to find the efficiencies and strategies that can make public broadcasting more sustainable and more vital in these communities.”

Joe Strupek, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, the governing body of WTVP said, “I’m excited about the possibilities. This isn’t about WTVP or WILL; it’s about central Illinois and providing educational and entertainment content and connectivity through public media, and how we can take the next step to further connect with our audiences.”

“This was a complete unknown,” Strupek said. “We went into this not knowing what would or could happen. What has evolved is a tremendous partnership—between leadership, between the stations and the staffs. The next unknown was, would we be able to find someone who could take the idea we had and take it the next step? We are thankful to find in Moss the individual who will be able to do that, who can take that step.”

University of Illinois College of Media Dean Jan Slater said Bresnahan understands public media and its mission. “He’s seen it evolve and is committed to what it can be,” she said.

 “This partnership is groundbreaking,” Slater said. “We’re not merging two stations. We’re keeping their strong local identity, but creating stronger public media through that. For a university licensee and a community licensee to be able to do the things we’ve done in a short amount of time has been more than we could have imagined. With this kind of momentum, we are thrilled about what the future holds.”