10 Q’s with Cam Edwards, Host of NRANEWS Cam & Co

I am fortunate enough to ask cool people, like Cam Edwards, host of NRANEWS Cam & Co, if he would answer a few softball, quirky questions from me. I’m sure he said “yes” because A. I’m no Soladad and B. Cool people recognize other cool people pretty quick.

(Really, I wanted to sit in his chair at SHOT Show and interview him on the show floor, but I didn’t think my CEO or his CEO would really go for that, so this is second best.)

Oh, and a little PR plug for you: Cam is hosting “Straight Shooter’s” week on Sportsman Channel beginning on Monday, February 25. Full details here. One question I didn’t ask because I already know the answer is – How do you get such recognized, influential people on your show? Answer? It takes a team. Cam has three producers who work with him night and day to put the show together, plus other technical guys who focus on camera work, satellite radio uplinks, websites and social media. So this is a shout-out to them as well – especially my peeps Eric, Cameron and John.

And so we shall begin:

1. Since I follow you on Facebook, you talk about your recent purchase of a farm. Tell us more about this – what made you decide to buy a farm? Did you grow up on a farm?

After eight years in the D.C. suburbs, my wife and I decided that we were willing to do something risky and crazy by buying a small farm in central Virginia.  Neither one of us grew up on farms, but we wanted our kids to have a richer life than one filled with video games and shopping malls. As for me, I’ve been a talk show host most of my life, and while talking for a living is great, I feel the need to be a “doer” and not just a talker.  The farm allows me a place to hunt as well as start a few small businesses that will allow me to get my hands dirty (literally)!

2. Besides your recent farm hobby – what do you do outside of Cam & Co to reduce stress and relax?

I love to take my kids shooting, and am looking forward to doing some fishing when it warms up.  Right now my favorite way to get rid of stress is to fill up the clawfoot bathtub, grab a book, pour myself a bourbon, light a cigar and soak until I’m as pruny as Ron White’s liver.

3. What have you been most surprised about with Cam & Co? What have you been most disappointed about?

I think most people would be surprised to learn that Cam and Company isn’t a show hosted by an angry guy who screams at the audience for an hour a day.  I like to use humor and sarcasm to help make my points, and I’ve been gratified by the reaction from viewers.  As far as disappointments go, I wish it were easier for me to leave the studio and report from the road.  Hopefully technology will allow us to do more remote broadcasting in the future.

4. If you could have one guest, (alive), who would it be and why?

If I thought I could have an honest discussion, I’d love to sit down with President Obama and talk about gun control.  But since that’s unlikely, I’ll have to go with Justice Antonin Scalia.  He’s a hunter, and a gun owner, and has already played an instrumental role in 2^nd Amendment jurisprudence.

5. Did you ever have aspirations to run for political office? If so, what position and why? If not, would you ever consider it?

I’ve thought about running for school board or maybe even county commission, but that’s about as high up the political ladder as I’d like to climb.  It seems like a big part of holding office is running for office, and I’d be a horrible campaigner. I’m too blunt!  At the same time, I’d like to see more of us get involved at the most local of levels, because just a few people can make a big difference locally.

6. Looking back on your career, what’s one piece of advice a mentor or someone gave you that you WISHED you would have taken? What happened?

I’ve been lucky enough to have taken most of the good advice I’ve been given, and to have stayed away from most of the bad advice that’s been offered.  I was blessed to have some great mentors in radio like Jerry Bohnen, Mike McCarville, and Bruce Collins, and they gave me a solid foundation that I’ve tried to build on over the years.

7. How about some sage advice for someone who’s aspiring to do what you do?

I’ll be honest, if I were trying to get in to television or radio today, I’d have no idea how to go about it.  I worry that as an industry, we’re not seeing enough new voices out there because we’re marketing a lot of the same voices on a variety of different platforms.  Still, perseverance is the key, don’t expect to be an overnight sensation, and do your work on radio or television because you love it, not because you want to be famous or filthy rich.

8. What do you look forward to?

I’m looking forward to a bath this weekend.  Beyond that, I can’t wait for the NRA Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas this year.  I’m hoping for 100,000 attendees!

9. Tell us about a pivotal time in your career. Like you were at a fork in the road and you went left – what if you went right? What do you think would have happened?

Early on in my career, I had to make a decision as to whether or not I wanted to continue as a photographer/videographer (which is how I started out in television), or make the leap over to the news production side of the industry.  I loved being a cameraman and still shoot video and take lots of pictures to this day, but there was something appealing about being in the news side of things instead of making local television commercials.  If I had made a different decision, I might well have spent my life in Oklahoma making some fantastic ads for car dealerships and/or furniture stores.  I think in the long run, despite my abject disappointment in the news media, I still made the right decision.  I do miss Oklahoma though.  😉

10. If we were to sell a Cam & Co t-shirt with just one word on it – what would you want that word to be?

“Cammunition”