The Summit Daily News has hired Matt Hutcheson, a former news editor in Arkansas, as its assistant editor. 

Hutcheson comes from southern Arkansas where he worked for the El Dorado News-Times, a daily newspaper, beginning in 2020. There, Hutcheson helped lead news coverage, edited stories for content and clarity, oversaw special projects including magazines and wrote articles for the daily print edition. 

Before that, Hutcheson served as editorial coordinator for the Luverne Journal, a weekly publication in Luverne, Alabama from 2018 to 2020. He began his journalism career as a general assignment reporter for a newspaper in his hometown of Greenville, Alabama in 2017. 

He graduated from Troy University in Alabama in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in English and literature. 

Hutcheson said he’s developed a love for local news that will guide his work at Summit Daily. 

“They’re important — local newsrooms are — because the people that work in them live in the communities, are immersed in the communities,” Hutcheson said. “They care just as much as the readers do.” 

As a writer, Hutcheson has covered a range of hyper-local topics including municipal government, education, nonprofits and courts. During his time in Arkansas, he expanded his coverage to environmental issues impacting the state, particularly around the lithium mining industry.

Summit County is a community facing its own set of challenges, from a shortage of affordable housing to the delicate balance between growth and preservation. Hutcheson said he’s eager to dive into these problems and help guide a news team that can deliver multiple perspectives on tough stories. 

“There’s few things more important in reporting than having awareness of these issues and diving deep into them,” Hutcheson said. “It’s overwhelming, a little bit, coming into a new community, especially one as dynamic and unique as Summit County. I’m looking forward to just figuring out what my niche is here.” 

Summit Daily News Editor Andrew Maciejewski, who hired Hutcheson, said the former Arkansas editor “has experience at a seven-day-a-week paper, and that is not an easy task.”

“Here at Summit Daily, we write stories at any hour of the day, and we’re always looking to get good information out to the community,” Maciejewski said. “His experience working at a paper that has that same mindset was a big factor in my decision.” 

With Hutcheson now living in Breckenridge and working at the paper’s Frisco office, Summit Daily’s editorial team is back to being fully staffed, something that Maciejewski said will help bolster the paper’s ability to serve the community. 

“It’s been a transition period over the past two years, but with Matt’s hiring we have everyone in place now, with reporters that have been in the community for a good amount of time,” Maciejewski said. “I’m really excited to see what this team’s going to produce moving forward.” 

Along with editing the daily paper, Hutcheson will be tasked with managing magazines. Hutcheson has a passion for feature writing and hopes to further elevate the newsroom’s feature content through photography and community storytelling. 

Hutcheson added he wants to focus on ensuring a range of voices can be heard, especially from underrepresented parts of the community. 

“I’ve several times now gotten into a community and learned it from the ground up,” Hutcheson said. “I’m hoping to do that here — live here, work here, learn the community.” 

While he comes to Summit County from the southern U.S., Hutcheson has already had a taste of Colorado after living in Greeley, a city near Fort Collins, from 2013 to 2016. Between waiting tables and pursuing online freelancing gigs, Hutcheson enjoyed exploring Rocky Mountain National Park and attending local shows. 

“I loved living (here),” Hutcheson said. “… and I think I’m going to fall in love with it again.” 

Matt Hutcheson can be reached at mhutcheson@summitdaily.com.