From the Chicago Dispatcher
May 2009
BUDZYNSKI'S BIG BREAK
By Jennie Barker
Ted Budzynski admits he never paid much attention to the North Lawndale Community Newspaper. That is, until he was asked to write for them.
Now, with an article featured in the Lawndale's latest issue, the 57-year-old cabdriver can't stop beaming. “I was elated,” Budzynksi said upon learning that his story had been published. “It's all I could talk about.”
Upon its release, Budzynski sprinted into the Chicago Dispatcher office as if he had just won the lottery, with a fistful of copies in each hand. “Here it is,” he announced. His eyes lit up brighter than the light fixtures on the ceiling.
Excitement was the furthest thing from Budzynski's mind when he first skimmed through an issue of the paper in mid-February. “I picked it up and I complained that the stories were boring,” he said. Budzynski has been a resident of the Pilsen area for the past five years. He added, “[the newspaper] says it serves the Pilsen area and there's nothing about us.” Unhappy, Budzynski sent a fax to the North Lawndale's office.
Almost immediately, he received a phone call, inviting him to meet with the Communications Manager of the newspaper, Krista Christophe. The next day, Budzynski did just that. It was there he received the good news. “They said, how would you like to write for us?” he recalls.
For his first story, Budzynski wrote about rat problems in his neighborhood; an ongoing issue he felt needed more attention.
“Every time I throw the trash out, I always see the alley is a mess,” he said. “This was my way of getting through to the people in the neighborhood about the problems this could cause. “
While interviewing neighbors for his story, Budzynski learned that not everyone seemed concerned about the problem. In response, Budzynski says he would like to write a follow-up story in which he organizes neighborhood meetings to educate others about the types of diseases that rats carry. “I'm trying to get the people who don't care to let them know that the rat problem could affect them just like it could affect everybody else,” he said.
Budzynski first became interested in writing while attending night classes at Shurz High School in the late 70's. In particular, he recalls enjoying a course he took about television news reporting.
“I had A's in journalism,” he said. Adding to his interest were characters that Budzynski regularly watched on television such as Mary Tyler Moore, Lou Grant, and Clark Kent whose jobs centered around the newsroom.
When asked who inspires him, one name clearly gets more mentions than the others: Jonathan Bullington.
Among other things, Budzynski credits the former Managing Editor of the Chicago Dispatcher with teaching him how to revise his own stories. “English in High school was never my best [subject],” he explains. “Anytime I wanted to write a story, I would always bring it to Jonathan and he'd look at it…a lot of the things I know about reporting came from him.”
Budzynksi also learned that completing his story wasn't as easy as he had imagined. “Every time I took the story over to turn it in, they'd [tell me to] add something to it. There were times I was up 'til three o' clock in the morning,” he said.
Between all of the writing, conducting interviews, and editing, Budzynski says the entire process took a week and a half.
According to Budzynski, all the work was worth it.
“I like to write news. I like to get compliments…There were people I met online, you know, who live out of state. I mailed them a paper and they sent me a message back telling me…that it's a good story…and I thank them for it,” he said.
Though Budzynksi initially thought he would get paid for a story more than 500 words (his story is 900 words in length), he said he is not concerned with the money.
“I'm not really looking for the money…if they want to offer me money, fine. If they don't, I don't care. But at least I'm going to get some experience.”
Looking ahead, experience is something that Budzynski hopes to gain.
If he gets good enough, he would eventually like to “try to go for bigger newspapers where I can make more money.” On the list of Budzynski's dream jobs are the 'Sun-Times', the 'Chicago Tribune', and the 'Chicago Defender'.
One subject Budzynski feels passionate about is kids.
Growing up on Chicago's south side, Budzynksi says he looked forward to reading about the achievements of fellow classmates in the local paper. “If there was a school student who made the honor roll, we'd put it in the neighborhood paper to let everybody know. I don't see that [now].” He added, “when kids see their name in the paper, it encourages them to read the paper more often. The more they read, the better their reading gets.”
When he isn't pursuing story ideas, Budzynski works as a cabdriver with the affiliate Carriage Cab Company; a profession he has been in for 21-and-a-half years. Despite the success of his story, Budzynski says he has no immediate plans to leave the taxicab business.
“I still like the cab business, except paying all these fines,” he said.
While the 'North Lawndale' is Budzynski's first official job as a reporter, he has had previous writing experience. Last September, Budzynski contributed to a story, which ran in an issue of the Chicago Dispatcher.
“I boycotted the food stand over at O' Hare airport, because…[the prices] were too outrageously high. I didn't think it was right that, you know, they raised their prices and we didn't even get a raise at all. So I wrote a story in the paper in regards to that.”
Budzynski also takes an active role in the taxi community. Currently, he is collecting signatures to help form a union. “[People who work at] McDonalds are making more money than we are. They get insurance; they get benefits. We have to pay for all that,” he said.
Previously, Budzynski single handedly got more than 2,000 signatures in support of a fare increase.
As for writing, Budzynski says he is fulfilling a dream and encourages others to do the same. “Go with your best interests,” he said. “If you see a story people would like to know about, then go for it.”
