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Confessions From a News Radio Heretic

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My radio career began with seven years of playing top-40 hits. I grew up idolizing radio disc jockeys and once I accepted the fact that I would never be able to hit a curveball, being on the radio was the only thing I wanted to do with my life. I got the chance straight out of high school but as I aged through my 20s I got tired of contests designed for fourteen-year-olds. Playing “Mandy” and “Midnight at the Oasis” every hour and fifteen minutes started eating my brain. Most of all, though, I wasn’t doing what I wanted. I got into radio to be a star, not just to read promo liners:

(Over 12-second music intro:)

“Super-Q wants to jet you off to Hawaii! Listen for the sound of monkeys playing in the palm trees and be the first to call 555-WHBQ!”

(Hit the vocal: “YOU’RE HAVIN’ MY BABY. What a lovely way of saying how much you love me….”)

I just made that up. I’ve still got it.

Music radio was changing and I was growing up. I wanted to entertain and inform an audience by saying interesting things. As I tried to figure out how to go about it, I got dragged into a newsroom and was soon given an early evening talk show. (I don’t remember the details of that transition. Still seems weird.)

The next thing I knew I was taking over the number one morning show in Sacramento and goofing with the news a bit. My excellent partners, Bob Nathan and later, Amy Lewis, and I achieved 20 years of the highest ratings in Sacramento history. The record still stands 30 years later.

All we did was talk like real people. No hype, no pretense. We didn’t act smarter than our listeners. If a story was questionable, we questioned it. If it sounded dumb or we didn’t care about it, we said that.

The truth is, I never cared about the news.

Through 44 years of successful morning news shows in major markets, right up until the day I retired two months ago, I never really gave a rip about news and still don’t.

I never wanted to be a journalist and have never been a news junkie. Don’t get me wrong, I respect people who are and couldn’t have succeeded without them. I do care about the world but I have a decidedly laissez-faire approach to life. If a situation is none of my business or if there’s a problem I can’t solve, I’m not going to get worked up about it. It’s like the old joke about why you should never try to teach a pig to sing: It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

I know. Some of you are outraged, right? Listen to me, here, I’ve been saying this to my bosses and coworkers forever: I’m a radio guy, that’s all. I’m a nice person, a good friend, and a loving family man but I am not a journalist. Frankly, the word kind of annoys me the way some people use it to claim their exalted intellect, concern, and nobility more than, say, a disc jockey.

When I got into news, all I cared about was doing my job on the air as well as possible. It didn’t matter to me if I was playing records, taking phone calls, or reading newscasts. I was hired to attract and hold the attention of an audience. To do that, I had to be informative, interesting, and entertaining. Reading news is easy. Having people enjoy it is not.

What about credibility? Good question.

If you didn’t see something happen, you’re only repeating someone else’s account. By the time you’ve rewritten a piece of wire copy or a local newspaper item, it has been through a dozen rounds of the telephone game. No telling how many details or implications are precisely true. And that’s fine, just don’t pretend you’re some kind of authority. You’re just a town crier. Nothing wrong with that but you’re not looking for a cancer cure, either.

So, be honest about that. Be real.

Just be you.

Now, I’m talking about how to be a radio news presenter/host. The business of gathering, writing, and reporting news does indeed require effort and a degree of expertise that isn’t always acknowledged. You chose that pursuit and we all thank you. But, once you sit down at a hot mic, don’t be a dick about it, okay?

Reading and talking about the news isn’t brain surgery but it does require talent and hard-earned skill. I worked at it, and you know what? I did pretty well. I gave my employers and listeners what they wanted and I did it proudly. The only thing I couldn’t do was be pompous. When I got that first morning news show I decided to tell the news, not preach it.

This wasn’t an original idea. I’m no radio historian but in my world, entertaining news started with Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur at KABC in Los Angeles in the early 70s. They didn’t have a huge staff of reporters and writers as did crosstown all-news rival KNX, which delivered news – and still does – with unbiased authority. Ken and Bob’s resources were a teletype machine and the L.A. newspapers. They didn’t just read the news, they talked about it. They gave you the information and then examined it. The duo exchanged views and wondered aloud about what was not said in the official reports.

They talked about the news as if they were at Waffle House with a few friends.

They laughed a lot, and so did we all.

The Ken and Bob Company was Los Angeles’ #1-rated radio show for almost 20 years.

In the 1970s and ’80s, San Francisco’s KGO Morning News with Jim Dunbar and Ted Wygant was the radio version of iconic local newspaper columnist Herb Caen, whose Pulitzer Prize award described him as the “voice and conscience” of San Francisco. Dunbar and Wygant made you feel special for waking up each morning in Caen’s famous “Baghdad-by-the-Bay”.

And, understand this:  Dunbar and Wygant were fun and lovable but never at the expense of being trusted and believable. That’s the crazy thing about the “image” issue some have with News Radio: the credibility nonsense.

One morning I had one of the most respected local radio reporters in the country sitting in the studio with me waiting to go on the air. This guy was a local reporter with nationwide acclaim. He was an actual journalist.

As we waited for the commercial break to end he said to me, “If I was News Director here, I’d never allow you to do commercial endorsements.” It came out of left field. We hadn’t been talking about anything, we were just waiting for the recorded spots to end. As we waited I asked him, “You don’t think the audience is smart enough to know the difference between a news story and a commercial?” He brushed it off as a matter of credibility.

This man was a superstar reporter. He knew his job as well as anyone I’ve ever met. But he didn’t understand mine.

Despite what you may infer from social media, people aren’t stupid. They understand the difference between news and commercials and between fact and opinion. They like people who respect them and approach them with some modesty.

While we’re all trying to figure out how to save our industry from evil corporations and bankers maybe it’s time we focus on ourselves:

– Nobody cares about your academic degree except your parents. I respect and admire you for having one, but don’t wave it around with your condescending attitude.

– As smart as you may be you’ll be a little smarter tomorrow. Nobody cares about that, either, though you should.

– The serious pronoun problem in American radio today has nothing to do with gender, it is the one-letter pronoun, “I”. Stop already.

-Above all, remember that you have a gift. You are a communicator. Be proud of that, be passionate, be honest, and have fun.

Never, ever, crack that mic with anything less than gratitude and humility.

Too Much Election Talk Could Be The Wrong Play For Talk Radio in 2024

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Play the hits. That’s the age-old radio adage we all live by, right? But what if the “hits” aren’t necessarily what we think they are in an election year? Typically, news/talk stations view the Presidential election years as relatively easy ones. It’s shooting fish in a barrel, right?

These are supposed to be years when playing the hits, just means recycling the top storylines from the Presidential race.

But that doesn’t appear like it will be the case in 2024. The Republican Primary has been a dud thus far, with Donald Trump seemingly lapping the rest of his opponents in the field. And then there’s the Trump factor, which still provides some entertainment, but it’s not nearly the never-before-seen show that it was back in 2016. The shine has worn off.

Then, there’s Joe Biden, the incumbent, who speaks as little publicly as any President in modern American history.

If we are to make music analogies, Donald Trump is the band that comes together for a reunion tour, and when you get to the concert, you realize that while the band brings up that nostalgia, they’re certainly not what they used to be. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are the opening acts, which most of the audience doesn’t care to see. And Joe Biden is … Willie Nelson. Are we sure he’s still alive? And if so, how?

This isn’t Taylor Swift. It’s not Elvis. Nor The Rolling Stones. Or Prince. 

So with that being said, as a talk radio station, don’t give the audience the cover band and try to convince them they’re the real thing. Don’t trot yourself out there as the washed-up rock star who can only let down the fans eagerly awaiting to be entertained.

There’s no doubt the 2024 Election will be a huge part of the next 12 months, but we already know it’s not the freshness, excitement, and unpredictability of 2016. It’s already lacking some of the enthusiasm and intrigue of 2020, which had the backdrop of COVID, along with cultural strife.

So in local markets, covering the Presidential election won’t, and shouldn’t be avoided, but it won’t be the typical Presidential year where the segments and shows seemingly write themselves. Add in that, as The Washington Post notes, “Doom Dominates 2024 Messaging as Trump and Biden Trade Dire Warnings”. 

Your radio audience will want to, and expect you to, inform them as to what is happening in this election cycle. However, 2024 is shaping up to be a rematch of two octogenarians, who are both underwater in popularity, in a script we’ve already seen play out, with an overwhelmingly negative approach by both campaigns.

Is “playing that hit” ad nauseam going to lead to smashing ratings success? If it’s just the same old, tired talking points from either side of the political aisle, I think it will be a loser.

Hosts will have to challenge themselves in this cycle to find new angles, unique perspectives, and an approach that appeals to an audience beyond the die-hards that either love Trump, hate Trump, love Biden or hate Biden.

Superserving that audience won’t lead to the growth you’d typically see in an election year because this is not a typical election cycle. 

So four long years later, here we are again. And while the American people are set to be potential losers in all this over the next 12 months, talk radio, which usually can win, could be set up for disappointment if the “hit” is overplayed.

Are Journalists Guaranteed Safety in Today’s Media World?

In 2023, 95 Journalists were killed across the globe, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Something they don’t teach you in Journalism school, you will be in danger because of what you do. Preliminary reports from the CPJ also found 79 media workers have died in Gaza since October 7, 2023. During the war another 16 were injured, 3 are missing and 21 arrested.

The threat of being killed or injured while reporting from a war zone is a known risk. However, the risk at home is real, too. Last year, Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons was shot and killed while covering a homicide. His photographer, Jesse Walden, was also shot but survived the attack. Another journalist who was killed in the United States, Jeff German of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. German, an investigative reporter, was stabbed to death outside of his home by a Clark County administrator who German reported on.

Safety is not on the forefront of one’s mind when reporting and if you’ve never worked in the field, it may not be on your mind at all. In 2023, at an Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Orlando, a panel came up with 6 tips to make safety a part of their newsroom:

  • Make safety and security a priority and part of newsroom culture.
  • Invest in mental health.
  • Remember that framing matters.
  • Assess reporters’ risk tolerance.
  • Stay in communication with reporters in the field.
  • Make reporters part of the safety planning process.

The key to remember is risk tolerance. Some reporters thrive while wearing riot gear, but is it practical or necessary? Sometimes, yes, you need to save your thrill-seeking reporter from themself to keep their crew safe. Remember there is more than the person you see in front of the camera. If your reporter is geared up and ready to go but your photographer is not, it’s likely best to air on the side of caution and be distant from the riot going on around you.

Often when covering protests, stations will send two or three photographers because there is safety in numbers. While larger markets and national stations can afford the safety in numbers luxury, smaller markets that don’t have a large headcount might benefit from the tips above.

Another outlet that came out with its own safety guidelines for journalists is Poynter. While its list is specific to covering unrest, there are two key points that should be a part of your everyday practice:

  • Practice “situational awareness.”
  • Safety first, story second.

Situational awareness is essential. If your head is constantly in your phone (or notepad if you are old school), you do not know the dangers around you. Instincts about safety come with time, as war correspondent Hollie McKay told Barrett News Media this past December, “You have to be very aware of risks and be very aware not to take unnecessary risks.” In the field at home or abroad if you are not aware of your surroundings, it could become dangerous.

We all want to get the story, it’s why we became journalists. Often times we do put the story first, but if there is no you to tell said story, there is no story. Take a step back, relax, access the dangers, and then decide if it is safe to move forward with the story.

On a personal note, I started out as a photographer in New York, as a ‘green’ photog I ‘door knocked’ alone, because I was asked to by an Assignment Editor. Luckily, nothing happened but this is not a safe request to make of someone working in the field. I later learned to say no to dangerous requests like this, but putting myself before the story came with time.

Over the years, I’ve left locations and canceled live shots because a gun was flashed in the vicinity of myself and a reporter. In another incident, which reoccurred a number of times, some with mental illness dropped their pants and started touching themself in the background of a live shot… cut to VO, I’m taking down the live shot and we gotta go.

I’ve seen other photographers punched in the face during their live shots. I even know a truck op who made a citizen’s arrest because someone jumped into the live truck and began putting on his reporter’s makeup. The risk is real and ever-present when working in the field.

For those of you who have never had field experience and view field crews as “difficult” or “frustrating”, please trust them. If they feel unsafe the live shot does not matter. What matters most is the safety of your crew.

Charles Barkley on ESPN Chicago: The NFL Are “Greedy Pigs”

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Charles Barkley spent over forty minutes with Waddle & Silvy this afternoon on ESPN Chicago. It was a wide-ranging interview which hit on the topics of Nick Saban’s retirement, college football recruiting, contracts, the G.O.A.T. of coaching, the Chicago Bulls, Aaron Rodgers and more.

Before wrapping up, the NBA Hall of Famer asked, “Can I take a shot at the NFL right now?”

As the hosts obliged, Barkley gave his opinion on the streaming-only playoff game, Saturday night on Peacock. “Showing this game not on cable, that’s low class,” Barkley began. “That’s not cool, they’re just being greedy pigs. I’m glad some NFL players are taking some shots at them.”

“I know the NFL is the biggest thing in the world,” he continued, “but to put this game on Peacock and make people have to buy Peacock, that’s just low class. I’m disgusted.”

Barkley said he would be unable to watch the game because he will be recording commercials for an upcoming Capital One campaign to air during March Madness. He said if he could watch it, he would just boycott.

“They sold the game for 110 million,” Barkley said. “And I know that’s a lot of money, but the NFL is making $20 billion a year. To screw your fans like that, it’s just not cool at all.”

As they wrapped up, Barkley added, “Thats just flat out greedy and I’m disappointed in the NFL.”

‘Big’ Jim Murray of ‘Felger and Mazz’ Has Option Picked Up By 98.5 The Sports Hub

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Jim Murray announced on Facebook Live he wll have his option picked up by 98.5 The Sports Hub and station owner Beasley Media Group.

“Big Jim” as he is known around Boston, responsed to a listener question about his contract being renewed and said, “I have an option that they’re picking up, was what they’ve told me, next month. So, I’m at least here for the next year.”

Murray and Mike Felger, who hosted the “Off Air Show,” had a humerous exchange about whether or not he had been worrying about his contract status. “Were you sweating that out?” Felger asked. Murray responded, “No I wasn’t…maybe a little.”

Felger later brought up he would like for Murray to get a longer term agreement, “a nice, long meaty long-term contract,” he called it. “That’s the hope,” said Murray. “That it wont just be an option and we can parlay this in to something more, fingers crossed.”

After talking about the volatility of the radio business, the conversation then turned to the news about Audacy recently filing for bankruptcy. Felger said, “I hope the Beasley’s are in better shape. I feel like they are.”

Asked whether he would leave himself open to another opportunity with another outlet, Murray said, “I know the landscape of the industry. I’m good. I would just like a little bit more security here, so that the wife and I won’t have to sweat that much.”

Mike Felger, Jim Murray and Tony Massarotti are heard weekday afternoons from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. local time on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

CNN Sees 6.4 Million Viewers For Latest Republican Primary Debate

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CNN hosted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former UN Ambassador and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) for the latest Republican Presidential Primary debate Wednesday, and saw a strong audience in the process.

In total, 6.4 million watched the debate across CNN, the Max streaming platform and CNN.com. 2.53 million viewers watched the debate on cable.

The event was the top-ranked program in the 25-54 demographic, scoring 509,000 viewers on cable. The live stream of the event on the network’s website hit its highest mark of congruent viewers with more than 100,000 viewing at the same time in the final quarter-hour of the 9:00 PM ET window.

The two-hour debate was moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, days before the Iowa Caucuses take place.

Denver Fall Ratings Book Finds Altitude Sports Radio Ahead in a Competitive Race

Drama involving Sean Payton, Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos, Coach Prime creating a buzz in Boulder, and the return of the NBA defending Denver Nuggets and Stanley Cup contending Colorado Avalanche, there was a plethora of content options for local sports stations to work with in the Denver fall book. The Nielsen fall ratings reflected palpable interest in the market’s top two brands, and additional support for another local option.

Starting with Altitude Sports Radio, the station attained a 6.2 share in weekday prime (M-F 6a-6p) with Men 25-54. That put the outlet in a second place tie for the quarter. Altitude made improvements from the 5.3 share it delivered last quarter, when the station was tied for fourth. Year-over-year, the outlet gained 3.0 shares and moved up 11 spots.

Mornings with Marc Moser, Vic Lombardi and Brett Kane earned an 8.5 share for the book. That was the show’s third consecutive quarter with a first place result. The morning trio added 1.4 shares from their summer book when the show recorded a 7.1 share. Year-over-year Moser, Lombardi and Kane gained a remarkable 4.6 shares and nine ranking positions.

The early midday program (10a-12p) Dempsey and Company featuring Chris Dempsey and a rotation of co-hosts pulled in a 5.0 share, placing it sixth for the fall book. That was up from a 4.1, ninth place finish last quarter. During last fall’s ratings book, the program finished 16th with a 2.7 share, a 2.3 share improvement.

Following Dempsey’s program, Polumbus, Hastings and DMac took over from 12p-3p. Darren McKee joining the program in early November so he was only part of one-month of this book. The other two months included Josh Dover in the lead host’s chair. The daypart garnered a 5.6 share, fourth place finish in the fall. The show, which includes co-hosts Scott Hastings and Tyler Polumbus, improved its statistics by 1.3 shares and four ranking positions from the summer book. Year-over-year, PHD are up from 15th to fourth with a 2.8 share boost.

Afternoon drive with Nate Kreckman and Andy Lindahl generated a 6.3 share, which was good enough for third place. The program improved one tenth of a point and one ranking position over the summer book. Year-over-year, the show was up from a 4.0 share, 11th place result.

For Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan, the quarter included an eighth place finish in weekday prime (M-F 6a-6p) with a 4.8 share. That was up from a 4.7 share, seventh place finish in the summer. Moreover, it is a year-over-year improvement by one-tenth of a share while remaining unchanged in its ranking.

Mark Schlereth and Mike Evans continued to anchor mornings, attaining a 5.8 share in the fall book. The fourth place finish was a 1.5 share improvement from the previous quarter when it placed seventh in the market. Compared to last year, Schlereth and Evans moved up one ranking and improved from a 5.4 share.

Lineup changes were made at The Fan in mid September affecting both middays and afternoons. The station eliminated The Player’s Club with Orlando Franklin, Chad Brown and Nate Jackson, cut ties with Darren McKee, and split up Zach Bye and Brandon Stokley to restructure their weekday schedule. Middays now feature Josh Dover and Brandon Stokley from 10a-2p, and Zach Bye and former NFL and CFB running back Phillip Lindsay from 2p-6p.

In their first full book together, Stokley and Josh earned a 4.3 share, tenth place finish in middays. The new program improved the timeslot’s ranking by one position from the summer but lost four-tenths of a share. The show had an augmented performance this fall compared to last, gaining two-tenths of a share and remaining in tenth place..

The Drive in afternoons featuring Bye and Lindsay recorded a 4.8 share for the quarter, sixth in the fall book. Over the summer, the timeslot also ranked sixth but with a slightly higher share of 5.1. Year-over-year, the program lost one-tenth of a share and dropped by one ranking position.

Newsradio KOA, which features Dave Logan, Alfred Williams and Ryan Edwards talking sports from 3p-6p garnered a 2.1 share to finish eighteenth. In the summer, the program retained its eighteenth place standing but had a 2.3 share, losing two-tenths. The news was better however year-over-year, with the drive time crew gaining 1.1 shares and five ranking positions.

Looking at the full week (M-SU 6a-12a), KOA finished the quarter with a 3.3 share, which placed the brand in twelfth place. That was an improvement over the 3.0 share, fifteenth place ranking from over the summer. The station previously placed twentieth with a 1.6 share over the fall, more than doubling its share year-over-year.

For Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan, the outlet had a 5.0 share for the full week and finished sixth overall. Although its ranking position slipped by one for the quarter, it did add 1.3 shares. The outlet ranked tenth last fall with a 4.2 meaning the station added eight tenths of a point over a twelve months period.

Closing with Altitude Sports Radio, the brand finished the quarter with a 5.3 share for the full week (M-SU 6a-Mid). That ranked the station fifth in the fall book. Altitude improved by ten ranking positions and 2.7 shares year-over-year.

With The Fan retooling its lineup and adding a new program director, KOA gaining ground from improved performances by the Broncos and Colorado Football, and Altitude rolling in drive time and adding Darren McKee to middays, the winter and spring books should be fun to follow.

Ratings reports and analysis are written by BSM and sponsored by Crowd React Media, a division of Harker Bos Group. Learn more about the different ways sports media research can benefit your station and cut through the noise by clicking here.

WBT to Host North Carolina 8th District Congressional Primary Debate

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WBT has announced it will host a debate between Republican primary candidates who are seeking to be elected to North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District seat.

On Wednesday, January 31st, WBT morning hosts Bo Thompson and Beth Troutman will host candidates at Wingate University’s Batte Fine Arts Center for the on-air debate beginning at 7:30 PM. The debate will be preceded by a half-hour preview show hosted by the two moderators.

Additionally, WBT hosts Vince Coakley, Pete Kaliner, Brett Winterble, Brett Jensen, and News Director Mark Garrison will also ask questions of those vying for the seat.

The 90-minute debate will be broadcast on WBT and will also air commercial-free.

Currently, there are six candidates registered for the Republican Party primary, with Election Day being scheduled for Tuesday, March 5th.

Tickets to the event are free, but pre-registration for those wishing to attend is required.

Dave Ramsey: I Only Give Financial Advice to Those Who Ask For It

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Dave Ramsey has built a career and multi-million dollar corporation by giving financial advice. That doesn’t mean he’s doing it in his free time, however.

During The Ramsey Show Wednesday, Dave Ramsey argued it would be unwise for him to give unsolicited financial advice to anyone, let alone his family members. His comments came after a caller revealed his father-in-law was insistent he and his wife purchase a specific life insurance policy that Ramsey disagreed with.

“I have family members that vote the wrong way. They don’t know how to vote, they pick the wrong party. And they’re just dumb about it. And I love them anyway. I don’t create, at Thanksgiving, a political argument with people who aren’t going to change their minds,” Ramsey said. “I don’t give financial advice for free to people who don’t ask for it. And that includes everyone. Family included.”

Ramsey continued by noting that a friend recently made a financial decision he vehemently disagreed with, but on principle, didn’t lecture.

“I have a friend who’s so stupid that the other day he leased a car. And he’s even dumber than that he drove the car to my house to show it to me. I didn’t talk to him about car leases. I just went, ‘Hey, my friend has a nice car. I’m gonna be happy for him.’ And he’s happy about his car. He didn’t ask my opinion, so I’m not going to just go adult-to-adult. I’m going to celebrate his adult decision, even though he did a nice thing in a dumb way.”

Townsquare Media Silences 5 Stations, Including Michigan News/Talker

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Townsquare Media has taken five stations off the air as it awaits approval from the FCC to have them silenced, according to a report from Inside Radio.

On Monday, the company asked the Commission for a Special Temporary Authority to keep the five signals silent.

According to the filing, one of the stations off the air is 1470 WFNT in Flint, Michigan.

According to the station’s website, it featured a mostly syndicated lineup including The Brian Kilmeade Show, Dennis Prager, The Sean Hannity Show, and The Officer Tatum Show, among others.

“Due to economic conditions in the market, the licensee was forced to take the station off the air temporarily,” Townsquare Media wrote in the filing. “The licensee respectfully requests special temporary authority for the station to remain silent. The licensee will promptly notify the Commission when it is able to resume station operations.”

1470 WFNT had been on the air since 1947 in the Flint market.

The other stations taken off the air by Townsquare include stations in Deposit and Delhi, New York and a station in Trenton, New Jersey.