On Tuesday, September 10, as millions of Americans prepared to watch the ABC News Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump, three Camden County College students were preparing for their very own pre-debate broadcast, with some on-the-ground coverage from a familiar face, that would be airing live on 91.5 WDBK- FM, the official radio station of Camden County College.
Nick Earnshaw ’20, Radio Station Coordinator and CCC Alumnus, received media access for the debate, set to take place just over the Delaware River at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. These credentials provided Earnshaw, along with hundreds of reporters and media personalities from around the world, access to the Media Filing Center and the Spin Room, both located at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Earnshaw tasked three students, John Halwood, Maddie Jones, and Corey Avery, to host the pre-debate show from the newly renovated radio station on the Blackwood Campus while Earnshaw reported live from the spin room.
The significance of this broadcast was not lost on the trio. “Initially, when Nick asked me to host, I was hesitant due to the scope of this broadcast,” Jones reflected. “But it was a great opportunity to build my resume.” Avery agreed, “If you can cover this, you can cover anything.”
Halwood, who served as the lead producer for the broadcast, had experience with broadcasting live at College sporting events, but noted that this was an entirely different experience.
“This is entirely different from covering a game or practice,” said Halwood on a commercial break halfway through the broadcast, “We’ve had to figure out some things on the fly, but I enjoy the challenge.”
During the broadcast, students discussed the history of the presidential debate, the rules of engagement for the participants, and facts and figures about the candidate’s position in the race. Throughout the broadcast, Earnshaw kept the students informed of the happenings in the Spin Room, including the famous political faces he saw, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, to name a few.
When the three-hour broadcast concluded, the three hosts breathed a collective sigh of relief, and agreed that it had been a success.
“We were concise, didn’t talk over each other, and stayed on topic,” reflected Jones. “It went really well.”
Earnshaw believes that Tuesday’s broadcast, the first of its kind at CCC, is just the beginning of the new era of WDBK.
“The success of this broadcast shows that we are capable as a community college radio station of being on the same level as a 4-year institution and can provide these unique opportunities that even some larger schools can’t,” he said. “I know bigger things are possible here because of the talent of our students.”
Until the next exciting opportunity comes along though, Earnshaw is enjoying this moment and his students’ accomplishments.
“I’m thrilled we were able to give a few students the opportunity to be part of something like this where they could gain invaluable experience helping with this broadcast and learn a thing or two about covering an event of this magnitude,” he remarked. “I could not be more happy and proud of them.”
