Having just driven 2,200 miles from Arizona, Therese D. Hayt plotted her next road trip. New Philadelphia or maybe Massillon, she said of the two neighboring towns with GateHouse-owned newspapers.
Hayt, 56, is The Repository’s new executive editor, and movement and curiosity come standard in her life.
“I like to be out. I do not like to be confined to a desk,” she said. “ ... I like to explore.”
Hayt, who started work Monday, comes to Canton from Tucson, where she was managing editor of the Arizona Daily Star. She is believed to be the first female top editor of The Repository in the paper’s 197-year history.
During three decades in journalism, Hayt has worked at Sports Illustrated, the San Diego Union, Newsday and the Orlando Sentinel, and she is an advocate on First Amendment issues in journalism.
While in Tucson, Hayt coordinated coverage of the 2011 shooting in which six people were killed and 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded.
Canton is quite different from Tucson, a desert community of nearly 1 million people, and The Repository is the smallest newspaper of her career. But Hayt said this is where she wants to be.
“I grew up in the East,” said Hayt, who was born in Chicago, the oldest of four children, and moved frequently with her parents. “This feels like home.”
And while she has worked in large newsrooms, she’s more comfortable among a smaller group of colleagues, she said.
Publisher Chris White said Hayt understands the role local newspapers play in serving the public’s interest and holding public officials accountable.
“Teri is a wonderful addition to our team,” White said. “She brings a wealth of experience as a journalist, as a manager and as a leader who is committed to ensuring that we keep local journalism relevant and thriving in a changing media landscape.”
Brad Dennison, GateHouse Media vice president of publishing, who oversees The Repository and other large GateHouse daily newspapers, said Hayt is one of the best newspaper editors out there.
“We are fortunate to have her as executive editor of The Repository and GateHouse Ohio, and our readers are in for a treat,” Dennison said. “I think you can expect to see more enterprising project journalism with Teri at the helm, and I have no doubt our watchdog status will be kicked up another notch — that’s a real strength of hers.”
Hayt and her husband, Jon, have a 19-year-old son.
Having just driven 2,200 miles from Arizona, Therese D. Hayt plotted her next road trip. New Philadelphia or maybe Massillon, she said of the two neighboring towns with GateHouse-owned newspapers.
Hayt, 56, is The Repository’s new executive editor, and movement and curiosity come standard in her life.
“I like to be out. I do not like to be confined to a desk,” she said. “ ... I like to explore.”
Hayt, who started work Monday, comes to Canton from Tucson, where she was managing editor of the Arizona Daily Star. She is believed to be the first female top editor of The Repository in the paper’s 197-year history.
During three decades in journalism, Hayt has worked at Sports Illustrated, the San Diego Union, Newsday and the Orlando Sentinel, and she is an advocate on First Amendment issues in journalism.
While in Tucson, Hayt coordinated coverage of the 2011 shooting in which six people were killed and 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded.
Canton is quite different from Tucson, a desert community of nearly 1 million people, and The Repository is the smallest newspaper of her career. But Hayt said this is where she wants to be.
“I grew up in the East,” said Hayt, who was born in Chicago, the oldest of four children, and moved frequently with her parents. “This feels like home.”
And while she has worked in large newsrooms, she’s more comfortable among a smaller group of colleagues, she said.
Publisher Chris White said Hayt understands the role local newspapers play in serving the public’s interest and holding public officials accountable.
“Teri is a wonderful addition to our team,” White said. “She brings a wealth of experience as a journalist, as a manager and as a leader who is committed to ensuring that we keep local journalism relevant and thriving in a changing media landscape.”
Brad Dennison, GateHouse Media vice president of publishing, who oversees The Repository and other large GateHouse daily newspapers, said Hayt is one of the best newspaper editors out there.
“We are fortunate to have her as executive editor of The Repository and GateHouse Ohio, and our readers are in for a treat,” Dennison said. “I think you can expect to see more enterprising project journalism with Teri at the helm, and I have no doubt our watchdog status will be kicked up another notch — that’s a real strength of hers.”
Hayt and her husband, Jon, have a 19-year-old son.
