DANBURY, Conn. (AP) – Eric Conrad, managing editor of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, has been named editor of The News-Times.

“He possesses the skills, experience and enthusiasm to lead our newsroom as we transition to a media company that will serve the information needs of the greater Danbury area for years to come,” Sam Gett, president and publisher of The News-Times, said Tuesday.

Conrad, 45, who grew up in Sunbury, Pa., became a journalist after graduating from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. His first job was as a general assignment reporter for The News-Item in Shamokin, Pa., a daily newspaper with a circulation of 14,000.

The News-Times, which is part of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., serves more than a dozen towns in western Connecticut and eastern New York with numerous niche publications. It has a daily readership circulation of 30,000 and a Sunday circulation of 35,000.

Conrad and his wife moved to Maine in 1995 and he worked for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram as city editor and assistant managing editor before being appointed to his present position. The Press Herald is a 70,000 circulation daily and the Telegram’s circulation is 110,000.

Conrad succeeds Paul Steinmetz, 49, who resigned.

as editor in January after 24 years with the paper.