New Petzold has a different story to tell at The Advertiser

NOTE: The following is a column written introducing myself to readers of the Tuscola County Advertiser, a newspaper that had previously been owned and run by my cousin, Rudy Petzold, who built it into a model of journalistic integrity and even served as president of the Michigan Press Association. Hence, I am the "new Petzold" on the block.

I’ve written about speedskaters.

I’ve written about city council candidates, race car drivers, dog groomers, taxidermists, Olympic sharpshooters, World War II veterans, gardening enthusiasts, library directors, lumberjacks, theatre owners, historians, art students and the country’s best Tupperware salesperson.

Being a writer is a great job for an inquisitive person who’s not afraid to ask questions. It’s kind of like sitting on the curb as the everyday parade of life rolls by, pointing out interesting details to the guy sitting next to you.

Reporting is a great way to meet interesting people, both those you write about and those you work with. One day you’re standing in the basement of an immaculately well-preserved barn, hearing a farmer tell you that he can’t raise pigs for slaughter because he gets too attached to them. The next you’re outside in a snowy parking lot, holding your collar close around your neck to ward off the sleet with one hand and holding a camera in the other as a local sportscaster duels a high school athlete in a punt, pass and kick competition.

Interesting people tell their own stories, you just have to pay attention and write it down. I spent more than three years digging around for interesting stories as a staff writer for the Vassar Pioneer Times, and I spent three years as a sports reporter for The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times trying to absorb area sports culture — past, present and future.

Then I spent the past 18 months as a copy editor, critiquing every writer who worked for either of those papers and The Flint Journal. My colleagues and I would get a good laugh out of some of their word choices, typographical errors and wild exaggerations for emphasis.

“Why didn’t you ask this question?” we’d ask. “You missed the whole point of the story! What were you thinking?”

You know, I found out it’s awfully easy to sit back and poke fun at writers when you’re not doing it.

But I didn’t get into journalism to look down my nose at other writers trying to do the important work of informing and educating their community about what’s going on around them and how it affects them.

I got into journalism to connect with people, help build them up or hold them accountable. I like asking questions and finding out things about people that their own children might not know. I like digging through old newspapers and finding interesting things that people may not know about their hometown.

A big part of the reason I got into journalism was a guy named Rudy Petzold, my grandfather’s cousin who spent a long time as editor and then owner and publisher of the Advertiser. His success made me realize that it was possible for a guy from this area to fashion a career as a journalist.

When I was a kid I used to take scissors and a glue stick, cut up my parents’ copy of The Saginaw News and make my own newspapers, pretending to be an editor or a reporter. I was big on Superman movies, films about a guy who turned from a “mild-mannered” reporter into an indestructible force with a big “S” on his chest.

If I couldn’t be a superhero, reporter wouldn’t be a bad second choice I thought.

And it hasn’t been. Since I’ve been fortunate to avoid any accidents involving gamma radiation, strange toxins or mutant spiders, reporting has become my first choice.

I’m excited to get to know the Advertiser’s readers and help tell your stories.

If you have a good idea for a story you want to see in your paper, don’t hesitate to send me an email at petzold@tcadvertiser.com or give me a call here at the office any time Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at (989) 673-3181 extension 229.