Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman hires managing editor
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By Victoria Naegele
A veteran Frontiersman reporter and editor is back at the helm of the thrice-weekly newspaper.
Heather A. Resz took over as managing editor on Tuesday after a 12-year hiatus from the Valley’s newspaper.
Resz, originally from Kansas, initially joined the Frontiersman staff in 1996 as its assistant editor.
She left in 1998 to pursue other opportunities in Alaska journalism. She worked at the Alaska Star and the Peninsula Clarion as a reporter before joining the staff of Alaska Newspapers Inc., where she helped write, design and edit its six Bush publications. In 2006, she started her own business, and became the senior editor of the Alaska Contractor magazine, as well as working on other projects for a variety of clients.
Resz, who studied journalism at Kansas State University, said she is glad to be back in a role where she can help highlight news that matters in the Mat-Su Borough.
“It’s my community,” said Resz, who lives near Wasilla. “It’s a nice thing to cover the community you live in — to write about my community and my neighbors.”
“I attended my first Palmer-Wasilla Chamber meeting in many years yesterday and was hugged hello. It feels like coming home.”
Resz said after covering statewide issues for the past dozen years, she is looking forward to guiding the newsroom as it covers local issues, local people and local projects, and perhaps makes a difference along the way.
“The newspaper’s job is to tell stories that remind us that we are more alike than we are different, and that we can work together to accomplish things we couldn’t on our own,” she said.
Frontiersman publisher Kari Sleight said she is happy to welcome Resz back to the Frontiersman. Sleight’s tenure as publisher began shortly before Resz moved on to other opportunities in Alaska journalism.
“I’m glad to have Heather back in the Frontiersman family. She has made the Mat-Su Valley home for many years and really understands how important community journalism is to our readers,” Sleight said.
The new managing editor said she has no immediate plans for changes to the editorial content of the publication beyond an ongoing effort to make every issue better than the last.
Resz said she welcomes input from the community regarding ideas for improving the Frontiersman and story ideas about the Valley’s places and faces.
She said she wants to help tell the story of what sort of communities are here in the Valley, instead of letting national media sound bytes define the Mat-Su and its residents.
“There’s more here, and it’s our job to write about it.”
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