Character Interview From To The Republic

Interview with Character Warren Kavanagh

from To the Republic

by Bruce Clavey

 Three Minutes with Warren Kavanagh

Exclusive — Chad Young for TXN

We caught up to CNS news icon Warren Kavanagh for a spicy exchange.

I called it an interview. He called it a lesson. You be the judge.

First you sniffed out the Senate story before the world knew there was one. Then you cracked the mystery wide open. Do you always gravitate to the sensational?

If covering Desert Storm from a Baghdad bathtub in ’90 is your idea of sensational, have at it. I was clearing the brush for cable news ten years before you were reading copy from a Fruit Loops box to your little sister. Lesson One: a little homework on your guest goes a long way. True journalists read trends and measure risks, and when they make smart moves, the whole industry tags along and benefits. All while sensational reporters think tapping into a story that’s already great makes them great, too. Which are you?

But it was you who worked your name into the story covering the massive energy grid failure here in Texas, right? You called it Power Twelve, and—

“Inadvertently named the incident for an entire industry.” Yeah, some days it just rains nickels. All labels do is help people put a face on invisible terrors. Jaws. Chupacabra. Jack the Ripper. Somebody had to step up, since the WMO doesn’t name crazy Texas ice storms the way they do hurricanes, and Apocalypse was already taken. In my mind, some twisted lotto was in play: a December 12th attack, lights flickering like a slot machine, wildly random death. If the name Power Twelve hadn’t gone over so well, viewers would have passed it by and glommed onto some other handle, like—I don’t know. Snowmageddon.

Well, this time around, you framed the big picture right. But the new legislation doesn’t paint Texas with America’s best interests at heart. How do you see it all playing out?

That question is so four days ago. The Senate’s been back, they sprung their little immigration shocker, and the story’s miles down the road now. Here we are in San Antonio—you, me, even the U.S. Government’s rolled in. One big family, happy as hellfire. Making Lesson Two a lay-up: You’d have to be stupid to bet against Uncle Sam.

Is there a Lesson Three?

Never bet against Texas, either. In a head-to-head, I won’t be tilting my cards to you or anyone soon.

But covering it is bound to drop some lucky journalist into the big network anchor seat about to open, right? Surely that’s fair game for this interview.

You’re calling this an interview?

What would you call it?

Advice. Tips for beginners. So, we’re clear, having a handheld and clip-on shades doesn’t make you an instant journalist. Here’s my question: you saw me sitting alone enjoying a coffee and your Smartphone on a tripod is suddenly a press pass to my life and ambitions? Get real. Unless you know Pete Morley and you eat, sleep, and breathe network news, you and I won’t be talking his anchor seat and my career aspirations. But since you got hustle and I’m a nice guy, take my best wishes and a solid parting quote. Warren Kavanagh’s out to leave the news industry in a better condition than he found it.

You’re passing the torch, then?

Seriously?

Bruce Clavey of Round Rock, Texas writes with a passion for exploring the Latin heritage tucked in cultural corners throughout Texas, Mexico, and Central America. In 2017, Clavey’s research into perspectives on state history led to his onsite rediscovery of the Mexico City dungeon where the colonial “Father of Texas” was imprisoned, documented in his book “The Inquisition of Stephen F. Austin.” His interest to illuminate compelling historic junctures brought the creation of several feature dramatizations for state museum in-exhibit performance. Clavey’s release of Book One of The Republic Series in 2020 begins the journey of Texas and Mexican characters who confront the pressure points at today’s vibrant river border, a land that has functioned for centuries as both international gateway and barrier.

THREE WINNERS each receive a prize pack including: Autographed paperback copy of To the Republic; unisex tee with the “Texas Forever” design; baseball cap stitched with the “Texas Forever” design; ceramic lapel pin with the “Mano de Tejas” design; vinyl 5” decal with the “Mano deTejas” design.

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