May 9, 2023 • 28 mins
As a transportation journalist, Bernie Wagenblast has been weaving narratives of a professional sort for more than 40 years. As it turns out, one of her most recent stories is more personal.
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Bernie Fette (host) (00:14):
Hello again, and welcome to Thinking
Transportation.
Conversations about how we getourselves and the things we need
from one place to another.
I'm Bernie Fette with the TexasA&M Transportation Institute.
Many of us know BernieWagenblast as the founder and
editor of the TransportationCommunications Newsletter.
(00:37):
Bernie's daily chronicle of allthings mobility is now in its
25th year.
Noteworthy as that is, it barelybegins to illustrate her diverse
career as a transportationstoryteller.
After landing a radio job at age23 in New York-- America's
biggest media market-- Bernieprogressed from one new work
(01:00):
adventure to another, each onein transportation, navigating a
decades-long series ofprofessional transitions.
And after more than 40 years, atthe end of 2022, she shared the
news of another transition.
This one more personal.
Welcome, Bernie, and thank youso much for sharing your time
(01:22):
with us.
Bernie Wagenblast (guest) (01:23):
Great to be here, Bernie.
Bernie Fette (01:26):
Okay.
You really have quite animpressive resume.
I'm just going to hit some ofthe main points here for folks
who may not be as familiar withyour background as I have become
-- yours is one of the voicesthat we hear on the New York
Subway announcements.
Same for JFK Airport, editor oftwo newsletters, host of three
(01:47):
podcasts, owner of your ownbusiness, and multiple volunteer
service commitments.
Did I get all of that right?
Bernie Wagenblast (01:57):
The only thing I would change is I was at
JFK Airport, but now I'm only atNewark Liberty International
Airport.
They replaced me with a computerat JFK Airport.
Bernie Fette (02:08):
.
Okay.
Well, you know, I have aquestion that I was going to ask
about artificial intelligence,but I'll, I'll just hold that
until a little bit later in ourconversation,.
Okay.
But clearly you enjoy stayingbusy.
Bernie Wagenblast (02:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I consider myself semi-retiredthese days.
I do these various tasks, but italso gives me some free time to
enjoy the rest of life.
Bernie Fette (02:32):
Okay.
Where does that all come from?
How busy you stay, even assomeone who claims to be
semi-retired, where does thatcome from?
Bernie Wagenblast (02:41):
Oh, I think part of it is I wanted to work
in radio for when I was a littlekid, so this is as close to
radio as I can get these days,but it's on my own schedule and
doing the things that I want todo.
So that is kind of why I stay asbusy as I do, because it's, it's
something I enjoy.
It's not work at this point.
Bernie Fette (03:03):
Okay.
You've been in transportationcommunications for more than 40
years.
Mm-hmm.
Got your start atage 23 in the nation's biggest
media market.
At age 23, the biggest market.
Can you take a couple minutesjust to tell us about those
early years, if you would?
Bernie Wagenblast (03:21):
Sure.
I never anticipated working inthe transportation field.
It kind of happened by accident,if you will.
I always knew I wanted to workin radio, and I had had some
jobs in radio before thatopportunity came up in New York
City where I was doing thingslike covering city council
meetings and board of educationmeetings for a local radio
(03:43):
station.
And then I had a job at a NewYork City radio station, but it
was off the air.
I was working in the, thenewsroom doing pretty much
everything a reporter doesexcept actually being on the
air.
Mm-hmm.
and I had gone outto Indiana to a station in New
Albany, Indiana, which was anews talk radio station just
across the Ohio River fromLouisville, and I wanted to be
(04:06):
back on the air.
So that was a great opportunityto do that.
But it was clear that that radiostation wasn't going to be
around for the long haul.
So after my six-month lease inmy apartment was up, I headed
back home to New Jersey and waslooking for a job.
And fortunately I got a callthat this new company, at least
new to New York, called ShadowTraffic, was going to be opening
(04:28):
up in New York.
They had already been open inChicago and in the city where
they started, Philadelphia.
And the idea behind this wasthey were going to provide
traffic reports for many of thedifferent radio stations in the
New York, New Jersey,Connecticut area.
Mm-hmm.
, And they said,would you like to come in for an
audition?
Well, I've always been a fan ofmaps, so I had a pretty good lay
(04:50):
of the land when it came to thegeography of New York, New
Jersey, and Connecticut.
And I passed the audition, andat 23 years old in 1979, I had
this opportunity to be on theair doing traffic reports on two
of the biggest radio stations inthe country, WABC, which was
still a music station back then,and 1010 WINS which was one of
(05:14):
the first all-news radiostations in the country.
Mm-hmm.
.
So here I was at this early ageon the air, not just on the air
in New York, but on the airduring drive time, which is the
morning and afternoon peakperiods for my engineering
friends that is the mostlistened to time of day if
you're on the radio to be on.
(05:35):
So it was, it was wonderful.
And like I say, I didn't realizeit at the time, but that was my
introduction to the world oftransportation.
Bernie Fette (05:43):
That would, again, last more than four decades.
That's, that's amazing.
What a wonderful story.
Bernie Wagenblast (05:50):
Thank you.
Bernie Fette (05:50):
You've seen a lot of change in your time as a
professional.
Mm-hmm.
, moving from,again, just hitting some high
points here, moving from radioto the New York City Department
of Transportation, then to thePort Authority of New York and
New Jersey, back to radio.
Mm-hmm.
, somewhere alongthe line, you started your own
(06:10):
company, Bernie WagrenblastCommunications.
So you've been through a numberof transitions in your working
life.
Mm-hmm.
, and now goingthrough another transition, this
one in your personal life.
Yes.
Please tell us more about that.
Bernie Wagenblast (06:27):
Well, this, I would have to say, has been the
biggest transition.
At the end of December of 2022.
I shared with the world that Iwas going to be transitioning to
living as a woman.
It is something that I knewabout myself from my earliest
memories.
I have memories of wanting to bea girl when I was four years
(06:48):
old, and it was something thatwas always with me.
But growing up in the 1960s and1970s, that was just something
that couldn't be shared, I felt,safely with anyone, and I pretty
much kept it a secret for mostof my life, except for those who
were closest to me.
But finally, as 2022 was windingdown, I decided that I wanted to
(07:15):
finally live the way I alwaysfelt inside.
So I shared that, and as ofJanuary 1st, I made what was one
of the biggest New Year'sresolutions I suppose you can
make, and that was to startliving my life in public as a
female.
And I've been doing that eversince.
Bernie Fette (07:36):
I really appreciated in listening to your
Cranford podcast, where thetables were turned and you were
the interviewee, instead ofbeing the interviewer for that
particular episode, and youexplained things for listeners
by using the right hand- lefthand analogy.
(07:57):
Can you review that just alittle bit?
Because I thought it was really,really helpful to the listeners.
Bernie Wagenblast (08:02):
Sure.
I think unless you are trans,it's very difficult to
understand why someone wouldwant to live in a gender other
than the one they were assignedat birth.
Mm-hmm.
.
And it's very difficult toexplain it to someone else.
So the easiest way for me tomake an analogy was something I
(08:26):
had heard from other people, andthat's being right-handed or
left-handed.
Most of us were bornright-handed or left-handed, and
that was just naturally what wedid.
When you watch little babies andtoddlers and you start seeing
which, which arm and which legis dominant.
Well, if you try to change thatperson, say when they're a
(08:50):
teenager, and say, okay, well,you always write and throw and
kick right-handed, left-footed,or right-footed.
Now we're going to ask you toswitch and you're gonna have to
do everything from your leftside.
It would feel very unnatural foryou to do that.
It would be a struggle.
You would not do it as well asyou do on your dominant side.
(09:14):
And that's kind of like whatbeing trans is.
It's a little more in your headthan being right-handed or
left-handed may be, but it'svery similar to try to
understand, asking someone touse the side of their body that
is not the dominant side oftheir body.
Bernie Fette (09:35):
Mm-hmm.
, You've said thatyou have enjoyed a lot of
support from friends and family.
Bernie Wagenblast (09:42):
Mm-hmm.
.
Yes.
Bernie Fette (09:44):
Have you had any concerns about whether your
transition might adverselyaffect the professional
relationships, relationshipsthat in many cases you've built
over so many years of working intransportation?
Bernie Wagenblast (10:00):
I had some concern, but they weren't deep
concerns.
I have a couple of clients thatI do podcasts for.
One is ITE, the Institute ofTransportation Engineers, and
the other is AASHTO, theAmerican Association of State
Highway and TransportationOfficials.
And I also do some newslettersfor AASHTO.
And before anything was publiclyannounced, this goes back to
(10:24):
June, I think, I reached out toboth organizations and shared
with them who I was, and thefact that I anticipated that
this was going to become publicinformation.
I wasn't sure at that point if Iwas going to socially transition
to present in public as a woman,but the information that I was
(10:47):
trans was going to be out there,and I wanted them to be aware of
that.
I also shared it with theMetropolitan Transportation
Authority, the MTA in New York,which operates the subways where
I do the voice, as well as thePort Authority of New York and
New Jersey, uh, because I do thevoice for the Air Train and a
few other places at the PortAuthority.
And all of them were a hundredpercent supportive, had
(11:10):
absolutely no problem with it,and let me know that they would
be behind me.
So that was wonderful.
That was just absolutelywonderful to have that happen.
Bernie Fette (11:21):
When you first started out professionally,
transportation was very much amale-dominated industry.
Still is in many ways.
And men have generally enjoyedcertain advantages in the
workplace, not just intransportation, but in many
workplaces, while many timeswomen have had to struggle for
(11:43):
fair and equal treatment.
For almost your whole career,you presented yourself as a man.
Bernie Wagenblast (11:49):
Mm-hmm.
.
Bernie Fette (11:50):
But privately knew yourself as a woman.
Bernie Wagenblast (11:53):
Mm-hmm.
Bernie Fette (11:56):
I'm curious to know what your thoughts were
before and what they are now, interms of what we refer to as
male privilege.
Bernie Wagenblast (12:06):
Without a doubt, I have benefited from
male privilege.
It's true that in thetransportation world, there was
much more male domination, butmy initial experience was in the
broadcasting world where it wasmuch more a 50-50 split between
men and women, at least in theon-air positions where I was
(12:26):
involved.
Maybe not up at the executivelevel, but certainly in the
on-air position.
So, okay.
Even just transitioning frombroadcasting to working in
government was a little bit of achange for me.
Like I say, I benefited frommale privilege, and even though
(12:47):
I knew myself to be femaleinside, I'm sure that there were
times that being seen as a guybenefited me in my career.
But I also had the unusualsituation of working in the
transportation world.
And most of my colleagues hadbeen trained in transportation.
(13:07):
That was what their degrees werein, whether they were engineers
or planners or some other fieldwhere they had formal training
and education in transportation.
I had none of that.
And so I was always, in someways, a little bit of the odd
person when it came to beingwith my colleagues that I came
(13:28):
from a different world than theydid, and they were much more
comfortable with numbers andformulas, something that I'm
totally uncomfortable with.
And I was able to use the areasthat I was strong in to create a
(13:49):
, a niche for myself in terms ofwhat my career would look like.
So I was able to use thosecommunication skills in a unique
way that maybe some of mycolleagues in the transportation
world weren't as comfortableusing and weren't as comfortable
being involved with.
Bernie Fette (14:07):
Mm-hmm.
.
So did that realization that youhad been benefiting from male
privilege, did that cause anyhesitation on your part in terms
of the time that you chose tomake your announcement?
Bernie Wagenblast (14:21):
Not significantly.
I certainly acknowledged thatwhen I shared in a post on both
LinkedIn and Facebook about mycoming out, that I have enjoyed
male privilege, and I think thefact that I did this after I was
semi-retired and not working dayto day, Monday through Friday,
(14:41):
nine to five, so to speak.
May have helped, but I think atleast here in this part of the
country where I live, that evenif I were still working
full-time for the organizationsthat I had worked for, that I
would've been in a welcomingenvironment.
And I don't think it would havenecessarily harmed any future
(15:05):
that I had in those industries,but if I had transitioned back
in my twenties, I think mycareer would've looked much
different for a variety ofreasons, both because back in
the 1970s, the world wasgenerally not accepting anywhere
of trans folks, and because Iwould not have been able to take
(15:26):
advantage of that male privilegethat I've enjoyed throughout my
career.
Bernie Fette (15:30):
Right, right.
You mentioned going back to atime in your twenties.
I know that you invest a lot ofyour time now and have in recent
years as a mentor.
Bernie Wagenblast (15:42):
Mm-hmm.
.
Bernie Fette (15:42):
Uh, for students who are pursuing a career in
broadcasting.
So it seems fair to say that youare a role model for those young
people who you can share yourexperience with and help them in
their own processes of makingearly career decisions of
planning their job hunts, andwhatever else they may be able
(16:04):
to benefit from in terms ofknowing your experience.
.Des that calling of being amentor to young people, extend
to young students who are facingthe same sort of gender identity
challenges that you have faced?
Bernie Wagenblast (16:20):
I think so.
I have not had any of mymentoring opportunities come up
since I transitioned in January.
But just this past weekend, mycollege radio station where I do
most of that mentoring, had a75th anniversary celebration,
and there were people there fromall generations of the college
radio station's existence, and Ireceived nothing but support
(16:45):
from people both in my owngeneration as well as people who
are students today.
So certainly if there areopportunities for me to mentor
younger people, I would welcomethose opportunities to do that.
In fact, one of the things thatI've been involved with, not
professionally, but in a supportgroup that I'm a member of, is
(17:07):
setting up a mentoring programfor people who are trans, who
are either contemplating orearly in their transition,
because there's a lot ofdifficult things that go along
with it.
It's not just the obvious ones,but you know, trying to figure
out what your style is andtrying to figure out clothing
(17:27):
and legal changes like changingyour name legally, or changing
the gender that appears on yourbirth certificate.
Those are all somewhatcomplicated things when you're
faced with that and it can seemoverwhelming.
And to have someone who has hadsome experience with that be
there to kind of hold your handand guide you and give you
(17:49):
direction as to what you can do...
that is very comforting.
I know it's something that I'vebenefited from, from people who
have mentored me and I'm stillearly in my transition, so I
don't know that I can be a greatmentor for a lot of those
things, but in any way that Ican help someone who is going
through something similar, Iwanna be there for them.
Bernie Fette (18:12):
You have been active as a transportation
journalist in a variety of ways.
In most of those cases, if notall of them, you've been calling
the shots on the outlets thatyou own or manage, so to speak.
But you have also been, I know,an observer of media outlets,
well, I guess what we generallycall mainstream media outlets
(18:34):
for many years.
That's been central to thefunctions of your newsletter and
your podcasts, of course.
What sort of changes stand outfor you that you've seen in
traditional media outlets andhow they cover transportation
news?
I'll give you an example, justreally briefly, if I may.
I've noticed that morenewspapers, for instance, no
(18:57):
longer seem to have a reporterdedicated exclusively to the
transportation beat.
Bernie Wagenblast (19:01):
Mm-hmm.
.
Bernie Fette (19:02):
That's just one, one that I happen to notice.
What sort of things do you seefrom where you're sitting?
Bernie Wagenblast (19:09):
Well, it's not just having a reporter who's
dedicated to the transportationbeat no longer being there in
many cases, but the newsroomsthemselves being decimated by
cutbacks.
So even the general reporterswho maybe are covering a fire
one day or a school issue thenext day are spread thin, so
(19:30):
they can't give that sameattention to transportation that
they once were able to do.
You get into areas liketelevision, they, for the most
part, did not have people whowere dedicated to the
transportation beat, although insome cases, I've noticed that
some TV stations have been usingtheir morning traffic reporter
(19:53):
to cover sometransportation-related stories.
So that is one area that is alittle bit different on a
positive side, that you do havesome people that are able to do
that, but there just isn't thesame ability to be out there and
seeing what's going on andcovering those stories.
that was once there.
(20:15):
And it's particularly true innewspapers.
Anybody that's picked up anewspaper has seen how different
they look and how much thinnerthey are than they once were,
and that means those are storiesthat once were covered are no
longer being covered, andthey're not necessarily being
picked up by online media.
That is a plus that we do haveonline sources now that are
(20:39):
dedicated to transportation andmaybe even a smaller niche like
transit that they're covering,and they can focus on that.
So that has been a plus, butsometimes the coverage of that
is not necessarily the way newscoverage the way I was trained
(20:59):
is that there's more opinion insome of the online sources, and
people are sharing a little bitof what they feel and not
necessarily just reporting thefacts, so to speak.
Bernie Fette (21:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
You mentioned earlier in ourconversation something about
your voice being replaced by acomputer.
Bernie Wagenblast (21:19):
Mm-hmm.
.
Bernie Fette (21:20):
At one of the airports.
What sort of thoughts might youhave on what artificial
intelligence might do to thenews business?
Uh, or the voice talentbusiness?
Bernie Wagenblast (21:32):
I anticipate that it will mean some major
changes, just as much as theinternet has changed everything.
I think AI is going to changeeverything in almost all fields,
that the ability for artificialintelligence to write a news
(21:54):
story, to voice a commercial.
Even there's experimentationgoing on where they're using AI
to be a DJ and host a show.
Where they're able to pullinformation like the current
weather, and of course, the timeand events that are going on in
that community and have it soundas if it's a live host are
(22:16):
radically changing it.
I know from various voiceoverforums that I'm a part of,
that's a real concern of otherpeople who work in the voiceover
profession.
That they will be replaced byartificial intelligence one day.
I'm closer to the end of mycareer than the beginning of my
career, but if I were juststarting out, that would be
something I would have concernsabout.
Bernie Fette (22:38):
Right, right.
Kind of a final takeaway as westart to wrap things up.
You've been doing this for morethan 40 years, as we've
mentioned a couple of times.
What motivates you-- even insemi-retired mode-- what
motivates you to keep showing upfor work every day?
Bernie Wagenblast (22:59):
I think the same thing that motivated me for
to get into this profession inthe first place.
I talked about wanting to workin radio for when I was a little
kid, but I wasn't interested inbeing a dee-jay.
I was always interested in news,and part of that was I saw that
as a way to give back, to make apositive change in the community
(23:22):
by reporting on what was goingon at the town council meeting,
or the school boards, orwherever people were interested
in.
At one point, I wanted to own myown small town radio station so
that I could really get involvedwith the community and be a
member of the Rotary and theChamber of Commerce and things
like that, and really do a deepdive in terms of having my hands
(23:47):
involved with all differentaspects of the community.
And I never got to own thatsmall radio station, but doing
what I do with my podcast, bothin transportation and for my
hometown of Cranford, NewJersey, I've had the opportunity
to do many of those things, butin a different way by sharing
(24:10):
information and things that inthe transportation world, that
people are involved with, newprojects that they're involved
with, with a much wider audiencethan might be experienced
otherwise.
And the same thing with myhometown podcast, just sharing
news of different individualsthat are making a difference in
the community that maybe don'tget noticed outside of that.
(24:33):
I have a little bit of an audiobias because of my radio
background, and I think withaudio, you hear things that you
don't pick up if you're readingit.
And you don't even necessarilypick up if you're watching a
video because with audio it'sjust you and the listener.
Chances are they may be drivingor listening on headphones while
(24:57):
they're exercising, let's say,and they're having a chance to
really have you in their head,so to speak, and you can hear
emotion with audio that youdon't necessarily pick up if
you're reading the same words inprint on a screen.
So I think that that's whatmotivates me, that I feel as if
(25:19):
I'm still making a positivecontribution to the field, and
that it does make a difference.
It's not just something that Ienjoy, which it is, but it's
also something that other peopletake value in.
Bernie Fette (25:33):
Right.
I completely understand whatyou're saying about dreaming of
owning your own radio station.
My dad started the weeklynewspaper in my hometown of
1,400 people in 1936.
So I noticed that there are afew more thorough ways to get
connected with your communitythan to either start the
(25:56):
newspaper or as you weredescribing, a voice-focused
medium in your hometown.
Uh, it sounds like whatmotivates you to keep coming in
every day is connection.
Bernie Wagenblast (26:09):
Yeah.
Oh, definitely.
I very much value the feedbackthat I get from my readers of my
newsletters as well as thelisteners to my podcasts, and
just seeing where people arelistening to it.
You know, the, the map comes up,that, that shows me where the
listeners are and to realizethat it's, it's not just even
the United States, but peoplearound the world are listening
(26:31):
to this and I assume enjoyingit.
Bernie Fette (26:36):
That's great.
Bernie Wagenblast--transportation journalist,
writer, editor, podcaster, andmore.
Thank you for sharing your timeand your story with us, Bernie.
It's really been a pleasure andan honor to visit with you.
Thanks for what you do.
Bernie Wagenblast (26:53):
Thank you so much, Bernie, and thank you for
your podcast as well.
Bernie Fette (26:58):
Transportation is one of those things that touches
every one of us, in one manneror another, every day.
Those who tell stories oftransportation are doing more
than just reporting on anindustry.
They're weaving narratives,either directly or indirectly,
about something central to ourdaily lives.
(27:20):
That's what Bernie Wagenblasthas been doing for more than 40
years with no signs of slowingdown.
Thanks for listening.
Please take just a minute togive us a review, subscribe and
share this episode, and pleasejoin us again next time for a
conversation with Tara Ramani, aresearch engineer at TTI and
(27:44):
Deputy Director of the Centerfor Advancing Research in
Transportation, Emissions,Energy and Health.
We'll hear from Tara about thelatest work in electrified
mobility, and its promise toeventually transform how we move
people and goods throughout theworld.
Thinking Transportation is aproduction of the Texas A&M
(28:07):
Transportation Institute, amember of the Texas A&M
University System.
The show is edited and producedby Chris Pourteau.
I'm your writer and host, BernieFette.
Thanks again for listening.
We'll see you next time.
Hello again, and welcome to Thinking
Transportation.
Conversations about how we getourselves and the things we need
from one place to another.
I'm Bernie Fette with the TexasA&M Transportation Institute.
Many of us know BernieWagenblast as the founder and
editor of the TransportationCommunications Newsletter.
(00:37):
Bernie's daily chronicle of allthings mobility is now in its
25th year.
Noteworthy as that is, it barelybegins to illustrate her diverse
career as a transportationstoryteller.
After landing a radio job at age23 in New York-- America's
biggest media market-- Bernieprogressed from one new work
(01:00):
adventure to another, each onein transportation, navigating a
decades-long series ofprofessional transitions.
And after more than 40 years, atthe end of 2022, she shared the
news of another transition.
This one more personal.
Welcome, Bernie, and thank youso much for sharing your time
(01:22):
with us.
Bernie Wagenblast (guest) (01:23):
Great to be here, Bernie.
Bernie Fette (01:26):
Okay.
You really have quite animpressive resume.
I'm just going to hit some ofthe main points here for folks
who may not be as familiar withyour background as I have become
-- yours is one of the voicesthat we hear on the New York
Subway announcements.
Same for JFK Airport, editor oftwo newsletters, host of three
(01:47):
podcasts, owner of your ownbusiness, and multiple volunteer
service commitments.
Did I get all of that right?
Bernie Wagenblast (01:57):
The only thing I would change is I was at
JFK Airport, but now I'm only atNewark Liberty International
Airport.
They replaced me with a computerat JFK Airport.
Bernie Fette (02:08):
Okay.
Well, you know, I have aquestion that I was going to ask
about artificial intelligence,but I'll, I'll just hold that
until a little bit later in ourconversation,
Okay.
But clearly you enjoy stayingbusy.
Bernie Wagenblast (02:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I consider myself semi-retiredthese days.
I do these various tasks, but italso gives me some free time to
enjoy the rest of life.
Bernie Fette (02:32):
Okay.
Where does that all come from?
How busy you stay, even assomeone who claims to be
semi-retired, where does thatcome from?
Bernie Wagenblast (02:41):
Oh, I think part of it is I wanted to work
in radio for when I was a littlekid, so this is as close to
radio as I can get these days,but it's on my own schedule and
doing the things that I want todo.
So that is kind of why I stay asbusy as I do, because it's, it's
something I enjoy.
It's not work at this point.
Bernie Fette (03:03):
Okay.
You've been in transportationcommunications for more than 40
years.
Mm-hmm.
media market.
At age 23, the biggest market.
Can you take a couple minutesjust to tell us about those
early years, if you would?
Bernie Wagenblast (03:21):
Sure.
I never anticipated working inthe transportation field.
It kind of happened by accident,if you will.
I always knew I wanted to workin radio, and I had had some
jobs in radio before thatopportunity came up in New York
City where I was doing thingslike covering city council
meetings and board of educationmeetings for a local radio
(03:43):
station.
And then I had a job at a NewYork City radio station, but it
was off the air.
I was working in the, thenewsroom doing pretty much
everything a reporter doesexcept actually being on the
air.
Mm-hmm.
Albany, Indiana, which was anews talk radio station just
across the Ohio River fromLouisville, and I wanted to be
(04:06):
back on the air.
So that was a great opportunityto do that.
But it was clear that that radiostation wasn't going to be
around for the long haul.
So after my six-month lease inmy apartment was up, I headed
back home to New Jersey and waslooking for a job.
And fortunately I got a callthat this new company, at least
new to New York, called ShadowTraffic, was going to be opening
(04:28):
up in New York.
They had already been open inChicago and in the city where
they started, Philadelphia.
And the idea behind this wasthey were going to provide
traffic reports for many of thedifferent radio stations in the
New York, New Jersey,Connecticut area.
Mm-hmm.
audition?
Well, I've always been a fan ofmaps, so I had a pretty good lay
(04:50):
of the land when it came to thegeography of New York, New
Jersey, and Connecticut.
And I passed the audition, andat 23 years old in 1979, I had
this opportunity to be on theair doing traffic reports on two
of the biggest radio stations inthe country, WABC, which was
still a music station back then,and 1010 WINS which was one of
(05:14):
the first all-news radiostations in the country.
Mm-hmm.
So here I was at this early ageon the air, not just on the air
in New York, but on the airduring drive time, which is the
morning and afternoon peakperiods for my engineering
friends that is the mostlistened to time of day if
you're on the radio to be on.
(05:35):
So it was, it was wonderful.
And like I say, I didn't realizeit at the time, but that was my
introduction to the world oftransportation.
Bernie Fette (05:43):
That would, again, last more than four decades.
That's, that's amazing.
What a wonderful story.
Bernie Wagenblast (05:50):
Thank you.
Bernie Fette (05:50):
You've seen a lot of change in your time as a
professional.
Mm-hmm.
points here, moving from radioto the New York City Department
of Transportation, then to thePort Authority of New York and
New Jersey, back to radio.
Mm-hmm.
(06:10):
company, Bernie WagrenblastCommunications.
So you've been through a numberof transitions in your working
life.
Mm-hmm.
one in your personal life.
Yes.
Please tell us more about that.
Bernie Wagenblast (06:27):
Well, this, I would have to say, has been the
biggest transition.
At the end of December of 2022.
I shared with the world that Iwas going to be transitioning to
living as a woman.
It is something that I knewabout myself from my earliest
memories.
I have memories of wanting to bea girl when I was four years
(06:48):
old, and it was something thatwas always with me.
But growing up in the 1960s and1970s, that was just something
that couldn't be shared, I felt,safely with anyone, and I pretty
much kept it a secret for mostof my life, except for those who
were closest to me.
But finally, as 2022 was windingdown, I decided that I wanted to
(07:15):
finally live the way I alwaysfelt inside.
So I shared that, and as ofJanuary 1st, I made what was one
of the biggest New Year'sresolutions I suppose you can
make, and that was to startliving my life in public as a
female.
And I've been doing that eversince.
Bernie Fette (07:36):
I really appreciated in listening to your
Cranford podcast, where thetables were turned and you were
the interviewee, instead ofbeing the interviewer for that
particular episode, and youexplained things for listeners
by using the right hand- lefthand analogy.
(07:57):
Can you review that just alittle bit?
Because I thought it was really,really helpful to the listeners.
Bernie Wagenblast (08:02):
Sure.
I think unless you are trans,it's very difficult to
understand why someone wouldwant to live in a gender other
than the one they were assignedat birth.
Mm-hmm.
And it's very difficult toexplain it to someone else.
So the easiest way for me tomake an analogy was something I
(08:26):
had heard from other people, andthat's being right-handed or
left-handed.
Most of us were bornright-handed or left-handed, and
that was just naturally what wedid.
When you watch little babies andtoddlers and you start seeing
which, which arm and which legis dominant.
Well, if you try to change thatperson, say when they're a
(08:50):
teenager, and say, okay, well,you always write and throw and
kick right-handed, left-footed,or right-footed.
Now we're going to ask you toswitch and you're gonna have to
do everything from your leftside.
It would feel very unnatural foryou to do that.
It would be a struggle.
You would not do it as well asyou do on your dominant side.
(09:14):
And that's kind of like whatbeing trans is.
It's a little more in your headthan being right-handed or
left-handed may be, but it'svery similar to try to
understand, asking someone touse the side of their body that
is not the dominant side oftheir body.
Bernie Fette (09:35):
Mm-hmm.
support from friends and family.
Bernie Wagenblast (09:42):
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Bernie Fette (09:44):
Have you had any concerns about whether your
transition might adverselyaffect the professional
relationships, relationshipsthat in many cases you've built
over so many years of working intransportation?
Bernie Wagenblast (10:00):
I had some concern, but they weren't deep
concerns.
I have a couple of clients thatI do podcasts for.
One is ITE, the Institute ofTransportation Engineers, and
the other is AASHTO, theAmerican Association of State
Highway and TransportationOfficials.
And I also do some newslettersfor AASHTO.
And before anything was publiclyannounced, this goes back to
(10:24):
June, I think, I reached out toboth organizations and shared
with them who I was, and thefact that I anticipated that
this was going to become publicinformation.
I wasn't sure at that point if Iwas going to socially transition
to present in public as a woman,but the information that I was
(10:47):
trans was going to be out there,and I wanted them to be aware of
that.
I also shared it with theMetropolitan Transportation
Authority, the MTA in New York,which operates the subways where
I do the voice, as well as thePort Authority of New York and
New Jersey, uh, because I do thevoice for the Air Train and a
few other places at the PortAuthority.
And all of them were a hundredpercent supportive, had
(11:10):
absolutely no problem with it,and let me know that they would
be behind me.
So that was wonderful.
That was just absolutelywonderful to have that happen.
Bernie Fette (11:21):
When you first started out professionally,
transportation was very much amale-dominated industry.
Still is in many ways.
And men have generally enjoyedcertain advantages in the
workplace, not just intransportation, but in many
workplaces, while many timeswomen have had to struggle for
(11:43):
fair and equal treatment.
For almost your whole career,you presented yourself as a man.
Bernie Wagenblast (11:49):
Mm-hmm.
Bernie Fette (11:50):
But privately knew yourself as a woman.
Bernie Wagenblast (11:53):
Mm-hmm.
Bernie Fette (11:56):
I'm curious to know what your thoughts were
before and what they are now, interms of what we refer to as
male privilege.
Bernie Wagenblast (12:06):
Without a doubt, I have benefited from
male privilege.
It's true that in thetransportation world, there was
much more male domination, butmy initial experience was in the
broadcasting world where it wasmuch more a 50-50 split between
men and women, at least in theon-air positions where I was
(12:26):
involved.
Maybe not up at the executivelevel, but certainly in the
on-air position.
So, okay.
Even just transitioning frombroadcasting to working in
government was a little bit of achange for me.
Like I say, I benefited frommale privilege, and even though
(12:47):
I knew myself to be femaleinside, I'm sure that there were
times that being seen as a guybenefited me in my career.
But I also had the unusualsituation of working in the
transportation world.
And most of my colleagues hadbeen trained in transportation.
(13:07):
That was what their degrees werein, whether they were engineers
or planners or some other fieldwhere they had formal training
and education in transportation.
I had none of that.
And so I was always, in someways, a little bit of the odd
person when it came to beingwith my colleagues that I came
(13:28):
from a different world than theydid, and they were much more
comfortable with numbers andformulas, something that I'm
totally uncomfortable with.
And I was able to use the areasthat I was strong in to create a
(13:49):
, a niche for myself in terms ofwhat my career would look like.
So I was able to use thosecommunication skills in a unique
way that maybe some of mycolleagues in the transportation
world weren't as comfortableusing and weren't as comfortable
being involved with.
Bernie Fette (14:07):
Mm-hmm.
So did that realization that youhad been benefiting from male
privilege, did that cause anyhesitation on your part in terms
of the time that you chose tomake your announcement?
Bernie Wagenblast (14:21):
Not significantly.
I certainly acknowledged thatwhen I shared in a post on both
LinkedIn and Facebook about mycoming out, that I have enjoyed
male privilege, and I think thefact that I did this after I was
semi-retired and not working dayto day, Monday through Friday,
(14:41):
nine to five, so to speak.
May have helped, but I think atleast here in this part of the
country where I live, that evenif I were still working
full-time for the organizationsthat I had worked for, that I
would've been in a welcomingenvironment.
And I don't think it would havenecessarily harmed any future
(15:05):
that I had in those industries,but if I had transitioned back
in my twenties, I think mycareer would've looked much
different for a variety ofreasons, both because back in
the 1970s, the world wasgenerally not accepting anywhere
of trans folks, and because Iwould not have been able to take
(15:26):
advantage of that male privilegethat I've enjoyed throughout my
career.
Bernie Fette (15:30):
Right, right.
You mentioned going back to atime in your twenties.
I know that you invest a lot ofyour time now and have in recent
years as a mentor.
Bernie Wagenblast (15:42):
Mm-hmm.
Bernie Fette (15:42):
Uh, for students who are pursuing a career in
broadcasting.
So it seems fair to say that youare a role model for those young
people who you can share yourexperience with and help them in
their own processes of makingearly career decisions of
planning their job hunts, andwhatever else they may be able
(16:04):
to benefit from in terms ofknowing your experience.
.Des that calling of being amentor to young people, extend
to young students who are facingthe same sort of gender identity
challenges that you have faced?
Bernie Wagenblast (16:20):
I think so.
I have not had any of mymentoring opportunities come up
since I transitioned in January.
But just this past weekend, mycollege radio station where I do
most of that mentoring, had a75th anniversary celebration,
and there were people there fromall generations of the college
radio station's existence, and Ireceived nothing but support
(16:45):
from people both in my owngeneration as well as people who
are students today.
So certainly if there areopportunities for me to mentor
younger people, I would welcomethose opportunities to do that.
In fact, one of the things thatI've been involved with, not
professionally, but in a supportgroup that I'm a member of, is
(17:07):
setting up a mentoring programfor people who are trans, who
are either contemplating orearly in their transition,
because there's a lot ofdifficult things that go along
with it.
It's not just the obvious ones,but you know, trying to figure
out what your style is andtrying to figure out clothing
(17:27):
and legal changes like changingyour name legally, or changing
the gender that appears on yourbirth certificate.
Those are all somewhatcomplicated things when you're
faced with that and it can seemoverwhelming.
And to have someone who has hadsome experience with that be
there to kind of hold your handand guide you and give you
(17:49):
direction as to what you can do...
that is very comforting.
I know it's something that I'vebenefited from, from people who
have mentored me and I'm stillearly in my transition, so I
don't know that I can be a greatmentor for a lot of those
things, but in any way that Ican help someone who is going
through something similar, Iwanna be there for them.
Bernie Fette (18:12):
You have been active as a transportation
journalist in a variety of ways.
In most of those cases, if notall of them, you've been calling
the shots on the outlets thatyou own or manage, so to speak.
But you have also been, I know,an observer of media outlets,
well, I guess what we generallycall mainstream media outlets
(18:34):
for many years.
That's been central to thefunctions of your newsletter and
your podcasts, of course.
What sort of changes stand outfor you that you've seen in
traditional media outlets andhow they cover transportation
news?
I'll give you an example, justreally briefly, if I may.
I've noticed that morenewspapers, for instance, no
(18:57):
longer seem to have a reporterdedicated exclusively to the
transportation beat.
Bernie Wagenblast (19:01):
Mm-hmm.
Bernie Fette (19:02):
That's just one, one that I happen to notice.
What sort of things do you seefrom where you're sitting?
Bernie Wagenblast (19:09):
Well, it's not just having a reporter who's
dedicated to the transportationbeat no longer being there in
many cases, but the newsroomsthemselves being decimated by
cutbacks.
So even the general reporterswho maybe are covering a fire
one day or a school issue thenext day are spread thin, so
(19:30):
they can't give that sameattention to transportation that
they once were able to do.
You get into areas liketelevision, they, for the most
part, did not have people whowere dedicated to the
transportation beat, although insome cases, I've noticed that
some TV stations have been usingtheir morning traffic reporter
(19:53):
to cover sometransportation-related stories.
So that is one area that is alittle bit different on a
positive side, that you do havesome people that are able to do
that, but there just isn't thesame ability to be out there and
seeing what's going on andcovering those stories.
that was once there.
(20:15):
And it's particularly true innewspapers.
Anybody that's picked up anewspaper has seen how different
they look and how much thinnerthey are than they once were,
and that means those are storiesthat once were covered are no
longer being covered, andthey're not necessarily being
picked up by online media.
That is a plus that we do haveonline sources now that are
(20:39):
dedicated to transportation andmaybe even a smaller niche like
transit that they're covering,and they can focus on that.
So that has been a plus, butsometimes the coverage of that
is not necessarily the way newscoverage the way I was trained
(20:59):
is that there's more opinion insome of the online sources, and
people are sharing a little bitof what they feel and not
necessarily just reporting thefacts, so to speak.
Bernie Fette (21:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
You mentioned earlier in ourconversation something about
your voice being replaced by acomputer.
Bernie Wagenblast (21:19):
Mm-hmm.
Bernie Fette (21:20):
At one of the airports.
What sort of thoughts might youhave on what artificial
intelligence might do to thenews business?
Uh, or the voice talentbusiness?
Bernie Wagenblast (21:32):
I anticipate that it will mean some major
changes, just as much as theinternet has changed everything.
I think AI is going to changeeverything in almost all fields,
that the ability for artificialintelligence to write a news
(21:54):
story, to voice a commercial.
Even there's experimentationgoing on where they're using AI
to be a DJ and host a show.
Where they're able to pullinformation like the current
weather, and of course, the timeand events that are going on in
that community and have it soundas if it's a live host are
(22:16):
radically changing it.
I know from various voiceoverforums that I'm a part of,
that's a real concern of otherpeople who work in the voiceover
profession.
That they will be replaced byartificial intelligence one day.
I'm closer to the end of mycareer than the beginning of my
career, but if I were juststarting out, that would be
something I would have concernsabout.
Bernie Fette (22:38):
Right, right.
Kind of a final takeaway as westart to wrap things up.
You've been doing this for morethan 40 years, as we've
mentioned a couple of times.
What motivates you-- even insemi-retired mode-- what
motivates you to keep showing upfor work every day?
Bernie Wagenblast (22:59):
I think the same thing that motivated me for
to get into this profession inthe first place.
I talked about wanting to workin radio for when I was a little
kid, but I wasn't interested inbeing a dee-jay.
I was always interested in news,and part of that was I saw that
as a way to give back, to make apositive change in the community
(23:22):
by reporting on what was goingon at the town council meeting,
or the school boards, orwherever people were interested
in.
At one point, I wanted to own myown small town radio station so
that I could really get involvedwith the community and be a
member of the Rotary and theChamber of Commerce and things
like that, and really do a deepdive in terms of having my hands
(23:47):
involved with all differentaspects of the community.
And I never got to own thatsmall radio station, but doing
what I do with my podcast, bothin transportation and for my
hometown of Cranford, NewJersey, I've had the opportunity
to do many of those things, butin a different way by sharing
(24:10):
information and things that inthe transportation world, that
people are involved with, newprojects that they're involved
with, with a much wider audiencethan might be experienced
otherwise.
And the same thing with myhometown podcast, just sharing
news of different individualsthat are making a difference in
the community that maybe don'tget noticed outside of that.
(24:33):
I have a little bit of an audiobias because of my radio
background, and I think withaudio, you hear things that you
don't pick up if you're readingit.
And you don't even necessarilypick up if you're watching a
video because with audio it'sjust you and the listener.
Chances are they may be drivingor listening on headphones while
(24:57):
they're exercising, let's say,and they're having a chance to
really have you in their head,so to speak, and you can hear
emotion with audio that youdon't necessarily pick up if
you're reading the same words inprint on a screen.
So I think that that's whatmotivates me, that I feel as if
(25:19):
I'm still making a positivecontribution to the field, and
that it does make a difference.
It's not just something that Ienjoy, which it is, but it's
also something that other peopletake value in.
Bernie Fette (25:33):
Right.
I completely understand whatyou're saying about dreaming of
owning your own radio station.
My dad started the weeklynewspaper in my hometown of
1,400 people in 1936.
So I noticed that there are afew more thorough ways to get
connected with your communitythan to either start the
(25:56):
newspaper or as you weredescribing, a voice-focused
medium in your hometown.
Uh, it sounds like whatmotivates you to keep coming in
every day is connection.
Bernie Wagenblast (26:09):
Yeah.
Oh, definitely.
I very much value the feedbackthat I get from my readers of my
newsletters as well as thelisteners to my podcasts, and
just seeing where people arelistening to it.
You know, the, the map comes up,that, that shows me where the
listeners are and to realizethat it's, it's not just even
the United States, but peoplearound the world are listening
(26:31):
to this and I assume enjoyingit.
Bernie Fette (26:36):
That's great.
Bernie Wagenblast--transportation journalist,
writer, editor, podcaster, andmore.
Thank you for sharing your timeand your story with us, Bernie.
It's really been a pleasure andan honor to visit with you.
Thanks for what you do.
Bernie Wagenblast (26:53):
Thank you so much, Bernie, and thank you for
your podcast as well.
Bernie Fette (26:58):
Transportation is one of those things that touches
every one of us, in one manneror another, every day.
Those who tell stories oftransportation are doing more
than just reporting on anindustry.
They're weaving narratives,either directly or indirectly,
about something central to ourdaily lives.
(27:20):
That's what Bernie Wagenblasthas been doing for more than 40
years with no signs of slowingdown.
Thanks for listening.
Please take just a minute togive us a review, subscribe and
share this episode, and pleasejoin us again next time for a
conversation with Tara Ramani, aresearch engineer at TTI and
(27:44):
Deputy Director of the Centerfor Advancing Research in
Transportation, Emissions,Energy and Health.
We'll hear from Tara about thelatest work in electrified
mobility, and its promise toeventually transform how we move
people and goods throughout theworld.
Thinking Transportation is aproduction of the Texas A&M
(28:07):
Transportation Institute, amember of the Texas A&M
University System.
The show is edited and producedby Chris Pourteau.
I'm your writer and host, BernieFette.
Thanks again for listening.
We'll see you next time.
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