The Summit Daily News has hired Andrew Maciejewski from Indiana as the new editor.

Maciejewski is coming from north-central Indiana where he formerly worked for the past two and a half years as an executive editor for Kentucky-based Paxton Media Group. There, he oversaw five newspapers based in Indiana including The Herald-Press, the Peru Tribune, the Times, the Chronicle-Tribune and the Wabash Plain Dealer.

Before serving as executive editor, Maciejewski was the editor of The Herald-Press for about a year and a half. Before that, he was a reporter for the Wabash Plain Dealer for about four months.

Originally from San Francisco, California, Maciejewski moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, during his youth and has lived in the state ever since.

“I really enjoy the feeling of a small town,” ​​Maciejewski said. “I love getting to know people, I love just how friendly everyone is in those parts of Indiana and I just know that there’s a lot of culture, there’s a lot of tradition and stories in these smaller towns in Indiana and just across the whole country.”

Maciejewski attended Indiana University Bloomington where he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism. He graduated in December 2017 and began working for the Wabash Plain Dealer a month later.

Maciejewski said his passion for journalism started early. He was a second-semester freshman in high school when he was awarded the editor-in-chief position of the school newspaper. Since then, he’s dived headfirst into the industry.

“When I was thinking about what I was going to do the rest of my life, just the idea of the public service, the utility I’d be providing and then my love for writing and reporting and meeting new people, all those things come into one when you’re in journalism,” Maciejewski said.

Maciejewski’s no stranger to Summit County, either. With friends and family in Denver, ​​Maciejewski said through the years he’s gotten to make the trek up Interstate 70. In his visits, he’s hiked Quandary Peak, explored Frisco, and skied at a couple of the local resorts. In the past year alone, he’s visited the area twice. When the opportunity to throw his name in the ring for editor arose, he seized his chance.

When Maciejewski joins the newsroom, he’ll have his work cut out for him. Summit Daily is hiring a new editor plus three new reporters. Though this could be daunting for some new editors, Maciejewski said he’s excited by the challenge.

“I love being able to instill my passion for what we do and kind of how I approach every day in our field … I’ve been blessed to meet a lot of young reporters and really let them cut their teeth in my newsroom and move on to bigger roles as well,” Maciejewski said.

Summit Daily News Publisher Nicole Miller, who previously worked as the editor, said this was one reason why Maciejewski stood out to her.

“I think the thing that struck me about Andrew is that he wasn’t afraid of it,” Miller said of the newsroom’s hiring plan. “We have four open positions, we’re going to be hiring a lot of new people and have journalists who are straight out of college and they’re going to need a lot of mentorship and coaching, and that can be a really scary situation for a new editor to come into. But Andrew was excited about that and he embraces that challenge.”

In addition to his willingness to take challenges head on, Miller said Maciejewski’s experience in community news also made him stand out.

“He’s currently the editor of a daily newspaper so I know that he understands the demands of a job like this, and he’s just really enthusiastic about community journalism,” Miller said.

Maciejewski will begin his role on March 7. After his start date, readers can get in touch with him by emailing editor@summitdaily.com.