My City June 2022

MYCOMMUNITY

A fter college graduation, he sent out hundreds of resumes and VHS audi tion tapes to TV stations all over the country. “I received two o ers,” he laughs, “in Alpena and somewhere in North Dakota. In 2002, I took the news anchor job in Alpena.”He worked there for six months before receiving an o er from FOX 66 in Flint. Although it was brief, Custer is grateful for his time in Alpena. “I had to do everything from editing stories to setting up. I had to lug 50 pounds of equipment everywhere I went. It made me more well-rounded in the studio.”He then took a job as main news anchor for an NBC a‹liate in To ledo, OH where his career journey near ly ended. “It wasn’t a good experience,” he remembers. “When I started, they laid o a majority of the sta including my co-anchor, and they wouldn’t let me out of my contract until I found a replacement.” Eventually, Custer was released and once free, almost quit the profession. He worked for a friend at Country Home Creations in Goodrich for nearly “ve years. ”e draw of the TV camera, however, wouldn’t let him go. He started recording food videos he distributed on YouTube that were soon picked up by WNEMTV5. In 2016, the WNEM news director o ered him an anchor spot. Custer accepted without hesitation and has been manning the news desk since. ”e WNEM experience has had trials and triumphs for Custer. From the beginning, his storytelling stood out as factual and heartwarming. He receives hundreds of submissions from

CUSTER CHECKS HIS COPY BEFORE GOING ON THE AIR.

people who enjoyed his reporting and have trusted him to tell their stories – something in which he takes great pride. Professionally, he’s been accepted; personally, being “out” has brought chal lenges. At least it is not, he admits, like his high school days. “I get both positive and negative messages from viewers and I have learned how to handle nega tivity with support from viewers and my husband, Dan. For instance, I no longer read the comments,” he laughs.

When negativity becomes overly bur densome, Custer takes solace in his sto ries and in a particular email he received from a viewer who told him that seeing a successful gay man on TV helped save his life. Custer keeps a printed copy of the message with him wherever he goes. Custer is a news professional in a time when journalism is in a state of crisis; everything is heavily politicized and facts are disputed. “Our indus try is more important now than ever

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