When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney faced the press recently, he was surprised by one young voice that penetrated the dialogue to inquire about more than Mike Huckabee’s politics.
“I asked him what he was doing to reach out to young voters, and he seemed taken aback,” said John L. Tomlin ’08, who joined hundreds of journalists on the presidential campaign trail in December.
The Political Science major, known on campus for producing TVUC’s first weekly news show, “News on the U,” has been a regular fixture at Democratic and Republican press conferences in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“I’m trying to find out more about the personalities of the candidates and offer a new, fresh, ‘outside’ perspective,” he said. “The media has been covering the campaign the same way for decades. All the stories are about who has more money or who’s doing better in the polls.
“The smaller candidates have media availability sessions, and it can be wild and crazy or an intimate setting. When I spoke to Ron Paul (R-Texas), there were only four other people, so we got a lot of face time. But you have to be confident enough to blurt out your question or you may not be able to sneak it in.”
Tomlin, from Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, N.Y, is no stranger to the television news world. His father, John M. Tomlin, is the former executive producer of “A Current Affair” and “Inside Edition.” The younger Tomlin pursued radio and television internships at Fox News and with the “O’Reilly Factor” and “Howard Stern Show.”
“I never discussed politics with my father until last year,” Tomlin said. “I remember us having dinner at Cornell’s Italian restaurant (in Schenectady) when I said, ‘There’s no news medium targeting college students in terms of the presidential campaign.’”
Working with his advisor, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science Zoe Oxley, Tomlin secured a $1,000 grant from the College. He borrowed a camera, sound and lighting equipment from his father’s Tarrytown production company. He handles all technical aspects of the project, including shooting and producing the videos and uploading files to the Web.
“Professor Oxley has been really supportive and encouraging, but I’m not that great with the Web stuff,” he confessed. “I’m using YouTube to embed and archive past interviews, and if I need help I call my dad.”
Tomlin’s campaign work is developing into a senior project, and he plans to make a documentary about his experiences after he graduates. He is posting news clips through Feb. 5 at www.MeetThePrez.net.