Chad Petri is the weekend morning anchor and digital journalist at News 5, always with a bag packed and ready to cover news on-the-go.
Chad has lived on the Gulf Coast since 2007 and since then has covered some of the biggest stories Alabama has ever witnessed. He’s seen the devastation and continuing recovery during the 2010 BP disaster. Chad spent weeks in central Alabama covering the deadly tornadoes that ravaged Tuscaloosa and the rest of the state’s midsection. He’s no stranger to sports reporting either, as he’s covered four college football national championships spanning the country in Pasadena, CA, Phoenix, AZ, New Orleans, LA and Miami, FL.
Chad is usually the guy News 5 sends when there is a story of great significance far from home. He’s a regular presence in Montgomery at the beginning and end of the Alabama legislative session.
Chad is from a little suburban community halfway between Baltimore and Washington D.C. known as Ellicott City, Maryland. After graduating college, he took his first job as the chief cook and bottle washer for a five radio station cluster in Rolla, Missouri. He’s also worked in Danbury, Connecticut, Jacksonville, Florida and Sioux City, Iowa. Chad is very happy to be back where it’s above 70 degrees almost year-round.
Chad and his wife Amy have built a family and life for themselves here in the Gulf Coast region. Chad, wife Amy, son Brit and daughter Emma all live in Baldwin County.
In his sparse spare time, Chad enjoys listening to podcasts, following mixed martial arts and playing with his kids. He’s always open to story ideas. You can shoot him a line in a variety of ways:
