Josh and Aaron are thrilled to be joined by Emmy-nominated TV Host, Host of We Are Austin on CBS, Austin celebrity, and even more importantly, a dear friend of FVF, Trevor Scott!
Listen here or read the transcript below. FVF’s Summary Judgment podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and more.
0:00:00.0 Aaron: Hey, Josh.
0:00:01.1 Josh: Oh, hey, Aaron. It’s been a minute.
0:00:02.5 Aaron: It has. How famous are you?
0:00:04.8 Josh: Well, according to YouTube, I’m viewed approximately three times every six months on my podcast. So pretty famous.
0:00:14.9 Aaron: Well, I’ve got good news for you. You don’t have to be famous today. We’ve got someone famous with us. Welcome our guest, Trevor Scott from CBS Austin.
0:00:22.7 Josh: Hi.
0:00:23.4 Trevor Scott: Hey guys. Great to see. Hey guys. Josh, Aaron. That’s the thing you do, right?
0:00:28.6 Aaron: Yeah. You do the, Hey Josh, Aaron. You can try it. You wanna try it on us?
0:00:32.2 TS: Yes. Hey, Josh.
0:00:35.4 Josh: Oh, hey there, Trevor.
0:00:36.9 TS: Hey, Aaron.
0:00:38.2 Aaron: Hey, Trevor.
0:00:38.7 TS: Good, we’ve done it.
0:00:40.1 Aaron: We did it.
0:00:40.4 TS: Thanks for having me.
0:00:41.2 Aaron: We did it. Usually you respond with some like crazy non-sequitur that makes people wonder why they tuned into the podcast in the first place.
0:00:47.5 TS: I feel like that’s your job today. I’m kind of in the fun hot seat.
0:00:51.0 Aaron: Yeah.
0:00:51.2 Josh: I actually feel like Trevor did that really well. Then you can be excused.
[laughter]
0:00:56.1 TS: I didn’t come in to break up a happy family today, you guys. This is all supposed to be all fun.
0:01:01.6 Aaron: Yeah. I…
0:01:02.2 TS: I am excited to be here, though.
0:01:03.4 Aaron: I accept that criticism, though. I mean, Trevor’s a pro. Let’s talk a little bit about that actually.
0:01:08.1 TS: Sure.
0:01:09.2 Aaron: So we’re not paying you to be here. I just wanna like, sort of brag on that a little bit because you’re kind of a big deal in Austin. I think most people in Austin know who you are. Somebody who is a television personality here. You are also very integrated into a lot of the charitable giving community. A lot of volunteerism on your part that we see out and about and a huge presence on social media. And so we are truly honored to have you here.
0:01:38.8 TS: Thank you.
0:01:41.4 Aaron: Let’s kind of say like, well, how did we get together? How do you know us?
0:01:44.7 TS: Yeah. Well, first, thanks for having me. That’s all really nice stuff to say. I appreciate that very much. I find myself in a job that is just like full of great blessings and luck and great opportunities. And so I feel like it’s mostly the Austin community who lifts me up and not me standing up tall around them. I appreciate that though. Thank you so much. You guys are the best. We came to you, you were first guests on our show. On We Are Austin, FVF came on. It’s been coming on in fact for a few years now, really to kind of talk about what you all do, what sets you apart in terms of your field and your expertise. But very quickly we realized, these are not your average guests. And I mean that in the best possible way, but truly, you came in and you set yourselves apart.
0:02:28.8 TS: We could tell, the whole team could tell that. What we try to do is help people tell their best stories. It’s kind of our job as hosts and as a lifestyle show. So that’s really important to us. But we noticed right away that you all have such an important core value and mission to what you do at FVF that you had it, you… We did not need to help you tell your best story because you’re that passionate about it. So we have done a million interviews over the years about personal injury and all things legal, which you have done a wonderful job of making interesting. But we could tell right away that there was just so much more than meets the eye with the two of you, with your whole culture at FVF. And then I, dare I say it, I think maybe we became friends pretty quickly.
0:03:12.6 Josh: It happened.
0:03:13.1 TS: Like it happened. And we became friends.
0:03:14.7 Josh: I was there.
0:03:15.2 TS: You were there.
0:03:15.9 Josh: I remember.
0:03:17.8 TS: Yeah. We were all present. And you’ve come back over and over and over again to talk about such great stuff. And that was kind of the beginning. That’s our origin story.
0:03:25.0 Aaron: Yeah. We feel bad for other hosts at CBS Austin because we, whenever we have you as our host, we pal around with you for like, 10 minutes beforehand, we’re laughing and joking, and then other hosts might be looking at that with jealousy.
0:03:39.8 TS: Wow.
0:03:39.9 Aaron: And I’m sure Chelsey’s like, what’s, what’s…
0:03:42.2 TS: You know.
0:03:42.2 Aaron: And there’s nothing wrong with Chelsey. You’re just so good.
0:03:43.8 TS: No. Not one single thing. It’s just that we hit it off. We’ve got a vibe, but that’s all there’s to it.
0:03:48.2 Josh: Well, the We Are Austin community has been such an awesome experience for us. Like Aaron and I never really saw ourselves as people who would want to be on camera in front of people, trying to put any sort of message out into the world other than something positive that added value to the world. And what’s been amazing about this partnership from my point of view, is the opportunity that you and We Are Austin, have given us to actually come on in front of people and be informative and be a part of the community and demonstrate our core values. And I feel like there’s just something about you and Chelsey and really the whole staff and team at We Are Austin that don’t look at us as clients, but look at us as actually kind of part of that community and part of the fabric of what makes your show so special in helping put something really positive and good out into the Austin community.
0:04:49.6 TS: Absolutely.
0:04:50.3 Josh: Which is kind of what we’re all about too.
0:04:51.7 TS: Yeah. It’s a perfect fit. It really is.
0:04:54.1 Aaron: So how, what we wanted to lead into today, we have a lot of hidden agendas for today, but I would say one of the main things Josh and I wanted to explore with you is a little bit about what it’s like to be in that position. I’m picturing your daily routine being pretty intense. But before we even get there, I just was curious about kind of your journey and how it is you came to find yourself in the role that you’re in now, and whether that was something you always looked at or just kind of bumbled your way into.
0:05:27.5 TS: Yeah.
0:05:27.9 Aaron: A little bit of both actually.
0:05:29.0 TS: Yeah, okay. What did they say? When preparation meets opportunity, like the whole luck thing. But also, yeah, a whole lot of hard work. You’re right. The routine is intense, but long before I knew that was the case, I really kind of, I always knew that I wanted to do television. And when I was little, I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I did, honest to God, I truly, I was a, I’m an anxious guy. I was a super anxious, weird little kid, had trouble sleeping often, but I very regularly would line up. Would get every, the GI Joes, the Big Bird, the Muppets, all the stuffed animals I had. And I’d line them up in my bed and I’d play talk show at like 1:00 AM just because I was trying to get myself to go sleep. I sound like a really weird kid.
0:06:10.2 Josh: No, it’s just…
0:06:10.3 TS: I truly was.
0:06:11.1 Josh: I think it’s just crazy how you can start seeing those qualities in human beings at such an early age.
0:06:16.7 TS: Yeah, that’s what I wanted to do. And I didn’t know exactly what that meant. I think, and my report cards would probably say as well as every teacher that I’ve ever had, that I just like to talk a lot. And so maybe subconsciously I was looking for a way to make a living in that way. But when I kind of really started to understand once you get into junior high and high school, when you start to be presented with opportunities in journalism and broadcasting, I’m of a certain age and this was long before you had studios in schools and in fact in our school, so I’m an Air Force brat, so I kind of grew up a little bit all over. I think that probably lends itself to my desire to connect, to tell stories, to talk to people. I was never a lonely kid, but I did move around a lot as an Air Force brat, and I grew up overseas in Japan. But when we landed I would claim Austin as home now. I’ve been here for a while, but Oklahoma City was home. And I went to high school at a Midwest City High School, go Bombers.
0:07:14.2 Josh: Like go…
0:07:15.1 TS: Hat’s a military town. I know that sounds very weird now.
0:07:17.0 Josh: Like, wait a minute, go bombers. This makes sense.
0:07:18.9 Aaron: Alright.
0:07:20.4 TS: It’s an Air Force town. Yeah. So, yeah, we actually to brag on my best friend in the world, Patrick and myself, we launched our broadcasting program at Midwest City High School with our morning announcements where you take what’s normally read over the over the intercom, which is really commonplace now. But at the time in 1995, ’94, we took those announcements and we put them on TV and we wrote scripts, and we edited videos. And that’s when I kind of really, at the same time, kind of doing journalism and newspaper in high school, I understood really the power in storytelling in general, whether that was writing a story or telling a story with our voices, or I was also in theater. That’s a huge way of telling stories and relating. I just…
0:08:05.6 Aaron: Connecting.
0:08:05.8 TS: And connecting. Yeah, exactly. And seeing perspectives and putting yourself in people’s shoes. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. And I went to the University of Oklahoma. If you need to bleep that out here in this area, you’re more than welcome to. I spent the entire morning [0:08:19.5] ____.
0:08:19.5 Aaron: Just keep it to yourself.
0:08:20.9 TS: I know. That’s what everybody tells me, but I’m…
0:08:22.2 Josh: Dave, we’re gonna need you to cut that.
0:08:24.6 TS: You caught me on a day that I just spent three hours in [0:08:26.8] ____ surrounded by it. So I’m feeling a little in my feels about it. Anyway.
0:08:31.3 Josh: How did that make you feel?
0:08:34.7 TS: Surrounded, ambushed. No, really, it’s all love. Except for one day of the year. Beautiful broadcast journalism school there though, Gaylord School. And I went to School for Broadcasting and Mass Communications and got my first job in a TV station at the age of 18 as an associate producer overnight for the NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City. And so the whole kind of first part of my career was news. That’s really what I… The only thing I thought there was.
0:09:05.2 Aaron: Did you have an early mentor there?
0:09:08.9 TS: Yeah, yeah. In fact, so in high school, the NBC affiliate there in my hometown had a program called News 101. And so it would take high school kids and actually let you go out with photojournalists, real professionals and anchors, tell a story, find a story, tell a story, put a story together, and then they aired it on the news. And Linda Cavanaugh is a long time legacy anchor in that market. 50 years on the air, who was really a mentor for both me and and Patrick, for both of us. Somebody who was really kind of the epitome of a folksy, I don’t know if that word… It’s somebody who’s really there in your living room every single night, clearly capable of telling stories, authoritative, but also super friendly, really warm and felt like somebody that you know. And so for both of us and for our careers, he’s also still in television. We understood that this was really a way to connect and not just a way to deliver information. But I would say, and then people in school and so many people in newsrooms in my career along the way have really kind of helped form and lead me, I think now to where I am.
0:10:18.2 Aaron: What do you think about the technological changes that have happened since then? Whether it be streaming on the internet, using cell phones to broadcast and communicate through social media, has that accelerated the pace of your work or made it more frenzied? Or is it still kind of the same pace? Or how has it changed?
0:10:43.3 TS: No, I mean, I think this business is always crazy. It’s always frenetic and incredibly fast paced and busy. But I think now the difference is there’s really, now news really doesn’t sleep. So I am old enough to where I was editing on tape, you guys, like tape to tape and like actual tape, we say, all right, we’re gonna tape this. Nobody’s taping anything. We were back in the day and editing back and forth, cameras were huge. I was working on an assignment desk and literally booking satellite time with a satellite in space to feed things back and forth. We were calling couriers to drive things back and forth. And that has all changed so dramatically. We are all… Everything we can FTP and we can send things immediately. We can, we have media at our disposal. And the big difference is everybody does. So it’s not just us. We have kind of followed the curve. Generally, I think this industry kind of leads the way but it has become so commonplace for every person to have access to this media that I think the industry kind of had to like, catch up to other people and then finally start using phones and finally start using things that the general public have been using forever. It’s crazy.
0:11:51.3 Josh: Well, I mean, and that’s also resulted in there being an overwhelming amount of media.
0:11:58.3 TS: Too much.
0:11:58.7 Josh: Yeah. Everyone wants your attention. And there’s just, you can’t get away from it. How have you adjusted to that and thrived in keeping people’s attention at We Are Austin as well as you have?
0:12:15.5 TS: That’s a great question. Thanks. I don’t know. I think, thrive, that is a nice way to put that. Thanks. I appreciate that. I think we try that. I think it’s all about, I mean, I think it’s just about remembering something that’s really helpful for us is, and this happens frequently, is when somebody comes on the show and in one way or another, whether it’s before or afterwards, helps us understand what a big deal it was for them. A lot of the work that we do on We Are Austin is nonprofit. We’re very lucky to be able to have a solid core of great clients who understand the value in our sponsored content that then helps us lift up and give a platform to nonprofits and non-sponsored content on our show in particular. And when they come in, nonprofits come in and it’s so clear to us how important this opportunity is to them, to this platform, this ability to spread that message.
0:13:11.3 TS: I think those are the instances when you’re like, I think it’s, it reminds you why we’re doing this. And it’s so easy. ‘Cause I get up every single day and I go, and you do your hair and you put on a little makeup and you get on your outfit and you sit down in front of the camera and you do the lights, and it’s my job and I love it. But it does become very autopilot-ish. We’re very used to it. When we are reminded what a cool opportunity this is, what a great job we have, and how special it is that we can help tell these stories, I think those are those moments that help us remember. Stay sane.
0:13:44.6 Josh: I was gonna ask, it’s funny…
0:13:45.6 TS: Pardon me.
0:13:46.9 Josh: You kind of answered this question already, but one of the things that I wanted to ask you is how do you find your joy in your purpose in work? ‘Cause one of the things that I’ve noticed being around you in the studio, I think as an audience member, someone just watching a TV show, you kind of always have a question about, well, how is this person really behind the scenes? Are we seeing the genuine Trevor in front of the camera? And I can tell whoever’s listening to this podcast, absolutely, you are, you are the same. Every time we see you, you’re just a positive force of energy. And I think in order to, like, you don’t seem jaded in any way. You don’t seem frustrated or tired. I’m sure it’s hard work, and I’m sure that there are those moments, but the overarching feel that we get from you is just positivity. And it seems like in order to be able to sustain that day in and day out, day after day after day, you have to be able to find purpose in your work.
0:14:45.7 TS: Yeah. Absolutely.
0:14:47.5 Josh: It sounds like you’ve, you really have kind of taken to the ability to give a platform to organizations that might not otherwise have such a robust voice, which I think is fantastic.
0:15:00.6 TS: Yeah. And it’s, there’s that saying that if you if you love a job, you never work a day in your life. I think that’s not true at all. I don’t think that’s true. I think you’ll work harder and it will be harder. And because you do love it I just think it maybe it’s a little bit easier. I don’t know. I don’t find a lot of truth in that because I love what I do. That just means that I’m gonna work even harder at it. I understand the sentiment though, but yeah, I, yes, exactly. And I, everybody has their days. I think, I caution people to if you catch me in a bad moment, who knows. I hate to shatter anybody’s world, but we’re all human.
0:15:37.6 Josh: Sure.
0:15:38.6 TS: But I do delight and very much understand, I think the importance of projecting positivity and sometimes is that trying to get myself to catch up with that projection? Yeah, absolutely. But I think that’s part of the work of being a human. We’re all in bad moods occasionally.
0:15:58.4 Aaron: I’ve never been in that waiting room waiting to go on air and not connected with somebody who was about to be your guest who was doing some organization that was doing something great in the community. And so I can see where it would be easy to feed off of all those good vibes.
0:16:13.4 TS: Yes.
0:16:13.6 Aaron: And it is a very important day for them. And usually people come away from it. They’re very nervous going in. And they come away from it so relieved and happy. I mean, that’s gotta be just a positive feedback all day.
0:16:25.1 TS: It’s fun. Yeah. It’s a, I tell people that I’m in the business of like energy transference. So the green room’s a great example of that because people are often very, very nervous. And I forget that, because it’s so fun for us and commonplace, but a lot of people are really nervous about that. And so when I walk into the green room for the very first time, it is often very much an instant vibe check. And then I kind of prepare myself to give whatever energy I have. So if I sense somebody’s really nervous, sometimes that comes across as quiet. Sometimes it comes across as extremely self-assured. Sometimes it comes across as nerves, like good old fashioned nerves. But when you walk in and it’s immediate vibe check to kinda understand where are you, how can I help bring you to this level? And then put you in the best possible place to tell your story. At the end of the day, that is our job is the best thing that we can hear from guests when they get up and take that microphone off is thank you. That was so much easier than I thought it would be, you really helped make that a lot easier. That is our job is to set them up for success.
0:17:24.2 Josh: Is it because you lied to them beforehand and told them that they’re not on live TV?
0:17:28.5 TS: Yeah. Exactly.
0:17:28.5 Josh: And anything they say or do can be edited.
0:17:30.1 TS: Would you… In my career, at least 10 times, we have wrapped up an interview on our live show at 9:00 AM and somebody says, all right, so when does this air? Like, it just did, so congratulations. I don’t know, sometimes that’s maybe helpful for people, but yeah, no yeah, I think it’s just a matter of giving them the best that I have so that they give us and the audience their best.
0:17:50.4 Aaron: We share that in common with you in court with our clients. We’re trying to give them a platform to tell their story. They’re often coming in very nervous.
0:18:00.7 TS: Great point.
0:18:00.9 Aaron: A lot of them have maybe some personal ticks that, they didn’t sign up for this job. They didn’t ask to be hurt in the way that they were hurt, so they’re not like interviewing for the job of being a hurt person who’s trying to get Texas law to do what it does. They’re just there and they’ve got all the flaws that they came in with, and yet they’re being judged. And so how do you give that person a platform and allow them to, I mean, you can’t just tell them, don’t be flawed and get over your nerve. You’ve gotta kind of put ’em up there and let them just connect. And connection kind of overrides those nerves and overrides those flaws because if people see you’re a genuine person, they care about you. And they’re like, Hey, you don’t have to be perfect to make this work. And I think that’s the vibe we get when we come onto your show. One of my favorite things is I don’t feel like I have to be perfect.
0:19:00.6 TS: Exactly.
0:19:00.8 Aaron: On our show.
0:19:01.2 TS: Yeah. I love that you say that. ‘Cause we, that’s part of our spiel to guests is I always say it’s lifestyle, it’s casual. This is not the news. You don’t have to say it perfectly. I always tell folks, when you’re talking, the people at home, they don’t have any idea what you were supposed to say. That’s all in your head. So whatever comes out…
0:19:17.2 Josh: I also don’t know what I was supposed to say.
0:19:19.4 TS: Generally, yeah, that’s the case. So we’re all in that same boat. They don’t know, they don’t know that you messed up. They don’t know that you intended to say something else. We’re all natural human beings, we’re gonna stumble. It doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, there’s a real joy and relatability in it not being perfect. It’s, that’s the secret sauce.
0:19:36.0 Aaron: Did you take special classes on, like listening to people and, like improv or anything like that in order to try to hone your craft?
0:19:49.5 TS: Yeah. I do have a background in theater, which actually probably means I don’t listen to people very much, but in that case, but I do, I think it’s just natural. To be honest with you, I think you don’t learn enough of that, to be honest with you. I think in journalism school, especially when you’re in that coursework, you’re really talking about rules and ethics and all of that very important stuff. But in my experience, I don’t really think they talk enough about finding the answers and finding your way in an interview just by listening instead of having your next question lined up. I really shouldn’t admit this on a podcast, and maybe we can edit it out afterwards, but when it comes to certain interviews for me, I don’t do an excessive amount of prep work. I wanna know who my subject is, I wanna understand them, and I have a roadmap. But for me, having a natural conversation is way more important. And listening to the guest or the interviewee is so much more important because if I have an idea of where I want this conversation to go, chances are I’m not gonna be listening as closely as I should be to the conversation to really let it happen organically.
0:21:00.1 Josh: Well, I was gonna say, like, you should look at that actually as a point of pride. Like, we’ve sat and done dozens of interviews with you. I don’t know how many, lots and lots of interviews, and we always have an idea of the topic that we’re gonna talk about and some of the questions that we want to go over. But I think one of the things that you specifically do exceptionally well is actively listen and remain engaged and ask salient questions that might or might not be exactly within the scope of what we had discussed we were gonna talk about, but that actually makes the segment or the interview more substantive and more helpful and useful. ‘Cause for us, sometimes we get caught up in the minutia of, well, what are the details of the law? Da da da da da da da. And it’s nice to have you around kind of sometimes reminding us of, well, the person who is the intended audience, who we’re trying to educate, they’re gonna have questions. And I have found that you do a great job of being a representative of that base of listeners to help get some of those messages out of us that we may take for granted, but that are really, at the end of the day, the most useful part of the conversation. I think you do a great job of that. I think it shines through also in just, the quality of what you get from the people that you interview.
0:22:22.0 TS: Well. Thanks, appreciate that. It’s a dance, right? That’s how a conversation is. Yeah.
0:22:25.5 Aaron: You know what else Trevor’s good at?
0:22:27.2 TS: Oh, no.
0:22:27.9 Aaron: Time management. Wrapping it up. And on that note…
0:22:32.2 TS: Yes.
0:22:32.6 Josh: I think this was wonderful to have you on.
0:22:35.2 TS: Thank you.
0:22:35.6 Josh: And learn a little bit more about you, and we’ve got some more to come with you in future episodes. But this has been a great starter conversation with one of our favorite people here in Austin.
0:22:43.7 TS: Well, thank you. Right back at you. I’m not used to being in this part of the seat here. So, hopefully that was fun for you and for anybody else listening, I hope that was a good time. I really enjoyed it.
0:22:53.6 Aaron: You’re awesome. Thank you so much for being here.
0:22:53.7 TS: Thanks guys. I appreciate you both.
0:22:55.4 Aaron: Thank you.