Corey Davis

THEN: Boston Crusaders, 2005
NOW: Reporter, WPVI-TV – 6 ABC Action News, Philadelphia

Nearly 15 years after he took the field as a first-year “rookout” member of the Boston Crusaders, Corey Davis still thinks back to summer nights performing under the lights of football stadiums across the country.

“To this day my drum corps experience is one of the best summers and one of the best experiences of my life,” Davis says. “Because I was surrounded by people who were willing to be pushed to their absolute limit every day. We had the same passion for performing and for perfecting what we were doing.”

That drive and work ethic has stuck with him as he’s continued his pursuit of excellence outside of the music field. In August of 2019 Davis joined one of the top news markets in the country as a reporter with 6 ABC Action News in Philadelphia.

There's a new face on Action News Mornings! Meet Corey Davis!

Posted by 6abc Action News on Tuesday, October 29, 2019

 

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Davis’ introduction to the drum corps activity is a story that started with a high school band director. In 2000 he and his fellow students eagerly huddled around a band room television as his director popped in a VHS tape of a recorded DCI World Championships broadcast.

“We initially watched the top five or six corps, and there were a lot of great shows that year, but the Boston Crusaders were my favorite,” Davis recalls.

The viewing piqued his interest enough to put aside the clarinet for the baritone horn, realizing that learning the brass instrument could be his ticket into the corps.

And it paid off.

“I started following Boston and doing a little research about the corps, and by the time I got to college, I realized that joining a drum corps was something that was actually possible for me.”

Corey Davis, 2005 Boston CrusadersCorey Davis performs with the Boston Crusaders during the 2005 Drum Corps International Tour.


After time in the University of South Carolina “Mighty Sound of the Southeast” Marching Band and several changes in his course of study, Davis focused his efforts on film production graduating with a bachelor’s degree in media arts.

Securing a full-time job as a theater manager at a high school and even interning one summer for Drum Corps International as a video production intern, it would be several years before Davis found his way into the news industry.

“I took some refresher video editing classes at a technical college in Charleston, and the professor every day brought applications for part-time jobs at the news stations to us. Nobody would take him up on the offer and I was like, I’ll apply,” Davis said. “I applied at the news station I grew up watching, just for a night job after work at the school, and I got it.”

Davis kept his day job at the theater working mornings to mid-afternoon before heading to WCSC Live 5 News for an evening shift as a video editor. With summer break coming at the school and a growing interest in his work at the station, he took a leap of faith when an opportunity came about to become a full-time photographer.

“It was a huge pay cut,” Davis laughed. “Oddly enough teachers made more than people who are beginning in news. It was a huge lifestyle change for me. I had to come to a moment where I told myself I’m going to have to commit to this, and I did.”

Working with other reporters to shoot and edit their stories, Davis had a goal from the start to one day be in front of the camera himself. Again, seeing a break, he moved up within the network to take a position as a multimedia journalist which afforded him the opportunity to become a sort of “one-man band,” writing, shooting and editing his own news packages for broadcasts.

“In total I was at WCSC for about four years and I crashed and burned,” Davis said. “As a multimedia journalist, besides drum corps, that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. You're shooting, and editing, and writing your own stories all day. You have to do your web article. You have to do your social media. I mean, you're alone. But it prepared me for the next step.”

Crazy busy day covering the end of my first trial in Philly. Great hustle from Ian, Jackie and Dan, the photographers...

Posted by Corey Davis on Thursday, October 17, 2019

 

That next step took Davis outside of his hometown, moving across South Carolina for his first job as a full-time reporter with the NBC affiliate, WYFF in Greenville. After nearly two and a half years there he moved on to Florida’s WFLA in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market, before accepting his latest gig in Philadelphia with WPVI-TV – 6 ABC Action News.

“I knew that I had goals to see just how far I could go,” Davis said. “Each city for me was a bigger market and more challenges — More breaking news, more responsibility, more camera time, more exposure. Ultimately, all of that has prepared me to work in Philly.”

If Greenville and Tampa were the next steps in Davis’s career as a newsman, Philadelphia has been more like a giant leap. The City of Brotherly Love ranks among the top media markets in the country, just behind Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. It’s been a new city for Davis to explore and acclimate to with its own challenges to overcome for a reporter.

“Tampa Bay is a big area, but it's all spread out,” Davis says. “Up here, everybody's on top of each other unless you're in the suburbs, and I've never lived in an area like that. It’s been eye opening because with that comes more violence, more trouble. But also on the flipside, you get to work to find the good as well. And the good I've found has been really uplifting and it's been really heartwarming in a lot of situations.”

Now on the job in Philadelphia a little over three months, Davis says that he’s still stunned by how closely Philadelphia natives follow their local news station.

“People here grow up watching the news and they know all the talent,” he said. “So when I go to a scene now after just three months, it's to the point to where people are like, ‘Oh, Corey Davis!’ or they're able to say, ‘Corey,’ or ‘You're the new guy.’ They recognize me in some way. It kind of comes with the job, but I take it seriously because at the end of the day I look at this as a type of role model position too.”

‪I’m blushing.☺️ My reaction. 😂‬ ‪Having a little fun this morning. Perfect delivery from Tamala . 🤣👏🏾‬ 6abc Action News

Posted by Corey Davis on Wednesday, November 27, 2019

 

Despite how far news reporting may seem from marching yard-line-to-yard-line during his summer with the Boston Crusaders, you can still see how proud Davis is of his musical background. Though tripped up singing back the 6 ABC Action News theme song in a candid interview introducing himself to his new Philadelphia audience, he was quick to point out that he’s a dual threat on clarinet and baritone even if it’s been years since he’s picked up the instruments.

But you can also see how much he enjoys being in front of the camera and how much excitement he has for the job ahead of him.

“As a performer, the qualities and all the work and drive and energy we put into performing, that applies to everyday life as well,” Davis says. “And it made me realize to do what makes me happy. Because drum corps made me happy, I worked really hard at it. Now my career makes me happy, so I work really hard at it.”

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