Real Talk: Val Warner

Chicago gets to see you on air every weekday. And you are covering so many happenings, people, and ideas, and while we are entertained by you, we rarely get to know you and your story. I love my job entertaining Chicagoans every day.  In fact, I don’t consider it my job—it’s my passion.  If you watch “Windy City LIVE,” I feel like I am an open book. There’s probably not much people don’t know about me already, but to recap. I’m 44—I will be 45 in March—the 11th to be exact. I love birthdays, not just mine. I love celebrating life and another year, whether it’s for me, my kids, my family, or my friends. I am usually the party planner for my family events and my friend groups, and I love it.  Entertaining makes me happy.  I love seeing people smile.  Speaking of smiles, I was named “Best Smile” in my senior class.  I have not stopped smiling since.

I grew up in Los Angeles but made many trips to Chicago growing up, because many family members are Chicagoans.

From an early age, I enjoyed delivering speeches and announcements at church and school. I was very comfortable as a public speaker and being in front of an audience. I love stories—telling them and hearing them. I knew something in TV was my calling. I feel like I hit the jackpot with “Windy City LIVE.” This was my dream job, but one I never dreamed I could have. Sounds strange right? I was a journalist before this, reporting and anchoring the news. When Oprah stepped down and ABC 7 decided to launch a local talk show, I was called to audition.  It was both scary and exciting all at the same time but I had the feeling my career path was ready to change.  It did when, in February 2011, I was offered the co-hosting job.  I will forever be grateful to ABC 7 for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I pinch myself daily. I get to co-host a show with a true professional and a wonderful friend, Ryan Chiaverini, who has become Uncle Ry Ry to my kids. And then there’s the talented producing team who work feverishly to make it all come together and look easy. I get to connect with Chicagoans who bring Windy City LIVE into their homes each afternoon. Hopefully we can inform,  entertain, and make them laugh once in a while.  

At the end of the day,  my role as TV host quickly transitions into “uber mama”­—evenings filled with homework, cheer and/or soccer practices, dinner, dance breaks, maybe a movie if time permits, or even a work outing. I have busy days and nights, but I wouldn’t trade my story or my life for anything. 

How did you come to be in journalism and on air? My interest in becoming a journalist was sparked my senior year in high school by a veteran Los Angeles TV anchor named Pat Harvey who came to speak at our school for a college assembly. At that time I did not know she worked in Chicago. She was fantastic and described her anchor/reporting days in detail, explaining how exciting and rewarding  her job was. I was sold.
By the time she finished her talk, I knew I would take her same career path.  The next year, I became a communications major at the University of California at San Diego.  I spent three of my four college years interning at the ABC station in San Diego, KGTV.  There, I learned the ins and outs of the newsroom and quickly latched on to two veteran news reporters who took me under their wings and showed me the ropes. I was off and running to my first on-air TV job in Roswell, New Mexico, where I made plenty of mistakes, but also grew tremendously. Fast forward 20 years later and three states in between, I am here in Chicago with my family living my best life!

What was your biggest lesson learned as you developed professionally to where you are today? What advice would you give aspiring journalists? The biggest lesson I learned as I developed professionally is if you make a mistake, learn from it, move on, and try to do it better the next day. This business gives you plenty of opportunities to grow because no two days are the same. We constantly have a chance to improve and make better TV each and every day.  When  that little red light comes on and we are “live,” as a veteran anchor from one of my TV jobs once told me, if something goes wrong, we get to do it all over again tomorrow! He encouraged us to not stay in any negative space, but instead to move on and learn from it.  I would also encourage aspiring journalists to take risks, be different, stand out, step out of your comfort zone, and in some cases…don’t be afraid of self-deprecation…it can let your audience know you are human, too!

You are a single mother on top of your busy career. We all know balance is an art, if possible at all. What are the things you do to keep yourself in balance? What do you do for self care?  I am a single mom of a junior in high school and a 5th grader. These two keep me busy.  Sometimes, their schedules are crazier than mine. I spend alot of my days figuring how to get him here or her there or how to squeeze in a little me time in the middle of ripping and running with them. I’m not always successful with that me time, but when I am, it usually involves a date night, a workout class, or if I’m lucky, some spa time. It’s hard as a busy working mom of two, with a demanding full-time job, to put self-care a little higher on the priority list, but when I do, I am a much better mom and co-host for it. More self-care is one of my goals for 2019!

Life throws us curve balls. What experiences have you had that you can tell us and share your insights about that other women would be inspired by? I am very blessed to not have had many curveballs thrown my way in my life. I would have to say, leaving my marriage of almost 9 years with two very small children, was probably the biggest curveball life threw me. I never envisioned myself as a single mom, but my story has given me a testimony and a perspective others may not know. The ups and downs have made me more empathetic and appreciative of all the single moms and dads who do this day in and day out.

They say that behind every strong woman is a tribe of women that have her back. Who is in your tribe? How have your group of female friends, family, and supporters been a part of your life and your success?
Yes, behind every strong woman, there is a tribe, or as I like to call it, a village, holding her up and having her back. I found my village early on when I moved to Chicago, at my daughter’s school. It was the moms of her close friends who soon became my best friends, too. We have been tight ever since. They are the women who encourage me, support me, let me be me, wipe my tears, and share my laughs. They are impressed with what I do, but our friendships are not driven by what I do. They are my sounding boards, my accountability partners, and the women who know I am a mom first and relish that role. We all do. Our girls have grown up together and now two of our sons have too. If there are any celebrations in my life to be had or disappointments to be weathered, they are the ones I call.  A quick group text or phone call and they are sure to put it all in perspective and keep me going.   Girlfriends are the  best, but family is everything.  My small, tight-knit family have been my day ones (something my teen daughter says to describe those who have been there for you since day one…lol)!  from my sister asking my parents for a sibling (and they happily obliged by bringing me home) to them allowing her to name me, to me then naming her son  when I  got older, to my mom coaching me through many a speech tournament,  to opening her home to me and the kids for 9 months after trying to rebuild from a divorce, to my dad (who passed when I was in college) always rooting me on and calling me “sweet pea” all my life…I have been tremendously blessed to share my journey with them and have their constant support through the years and all the TV moves from state to state. 

Who inspires you? Who keeps you accountable in your life? My biggest inspirations are my kids, Zoe and Max. They inspire me every day to be a better version of myself. Whether  it is verbal inspiration from  my son who tells me all the time I am the best mom ever or a text from  my super busy teen who stops what she is doing to send me a message saying “you got this ma” on a stressful day, they manage to give me the energy I need to push through. I know they are watching my every move, so as their lifeline, I am accountable for setting the best example I can of a hard working mom who chooses to look at the glass half full versus empty, who chooses to show them that with dedication and determination, the sky is the limit…and who chooses to show them that tomorrow is not promised…so live today!