Cam Edwards. What else can I say? I had Cam in the shotgun seat! I’ve been listening to Cam Edwards forever. Ok, since he was on NRATV’s Cam & Co., I’ve had chances to meet with him several times over the years; at the New Jersey Safe Conference in 2017, at Rally For Your Rights in 2019 in DC, and I’ve seen him at several SHOT Shows and NRA Annual meetings. But when I say that, I mean I saw him in the media room working and didn’t want to bother him.
Before we get into this, I need to say “thank you” to John Petrolino, The Pen Patriot, who is a contributor at Bearing Arms as well as AmmoLand News, for connecting me with Edwards, suggesting I have him on the show. I was heading down to Virgina to teach a class and film another RSWC episode, and I saw that Farmville, VA, was between the towns I was traveling to.
Edwards was born in Massachusetts and after a couple of moves ended up in Oklahoma. He went to school for journalism in Oklahoma City, but ended up in Arkansas doing some TV and radio work. He started off pushing the play button on VHS players for shows like Sally Jessy Raphael and Jerry Springer. The station owners realized that Edwards had more talent and they offered him a position running 3rd string cameras for a Sunday morning church show, because no one else wanted to work on Sunday mornings. As much as he enjoyed it, he wanted to get on to the news side of things. He eventually moved back to Oklahoma City and transitioned into radio doing some investigative reporting. With an open timeslot at the station, he took a non-paid radio hour to do some talk radio.
In 2004, Edwards was doing “Morning Drive “and was approached by Angus McQueen. McQueen is half of Ackerman McQueen, which was the advertising company that had strong ties to the NRA. Angus offered Edwards a job in the DC Metro area being the voice and face of the NRA News. What is interesting to me is that McQueen gave Edwards and his team autonomy to tell stories for the NRA members. They wanted “editorial separation.” It wasn’t going to be that the NRA told him what he needed to do or give him the talking points.
Edwards shared some stories about some of his favorite and least favorite guests that he’s had on Cam & Co when they were on NRA News. Back in the early NRA News days, he was doing radio from 9pm-12am eastern. He didn’t name names, but his least favorite guests were the ones who had been imbibing before they called in. His favorite people to have on his show are the ones that are out there and making a difference in the gun world.
Edwards could see that the end was near with NRA News and started getting gear to keep Cam & Co going. After the “divorce” between NRA and Ackerman McQueen, Edwards was unemployed for 9 days. He got a call from folks at Townhall Media and they asked if he wanted to be the editor of Bearing Arms. Edwards had to transition from speaking for a living to writing for a living. Edwards didn’t want to give up working in the Second Amendment world. He’s loving what he is doing and wants to continue at Bearing Arms.
One of the things that I’m most honored about for this show is that Edwards gave me an EXCLUSIVE that he hasn’t talked about in public ever before. He talks about when he first touched a gun, not even shot one, TOUCHED one! And I guarantee you’ll have a hard time believing what he did! Yes, You’ll have to watch (or listen) to find out!
Cam Edwards: RSWC Passenger Bucket List; Check!
Favorite quotes:
- “What kept me passionate about Second Amendment issues all these years…it’s our Right, but it’s also the people.”
- “Do you want to be the hometown guy and have that hometown career, or do you want to see where you can go?”
- “I always felt like I had this unicorn of a job.”
- “My job was to educate and inform my audience about what was going on with their Right to keep and bear arms.”
- “I think one of the great things about the world of the Second Amendment is that we have so many incredible people to talk to.”
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie isn’t about firearms. It is about having an intimate conversation with two people talking. You’re the fly in the rearview mirror. Many passengers are involved in the firearm community, but not all of them.
This is a more intimate conversation than a phone, radio, or Skype interview. You get to see the passengers. And you’ll see where the road and the conversation take you! www.ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com, Facebook.
