FleetOwner’s Trucking by the Numbers issue in December was named the best single issue of 2021 during the Software & Information Industry Association’s 68th Annual Jesse H. Neal Awards, which recognize excellence in specialized journalism.
The December 2021 print edition of FleetOwner was the overall winner in the Best Single Issue of a Tabloid/Newspaper/Magazine category (brand revenue of $3 million to $7 million) during an awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City on April 26.
Editor-in-Chief Cristina Commendatore, who authored the comprehensive cover story that dives into trucking, transportation, freight, and other related statistics and figures, accepted the award with executive editor Josh Fisher. Art director Eric Van Egeren designed the cover and inside pages of the magazine, which also featured work by editorial director Kevin Jones, managing editor Scott Achelpohl, editor Jason McDaniel, content production manager Elsa Pecoroni, and former digital editor Catharine Conway, among others in the Endeavor Business Media team.
See also: Trucking by the Numbers 2021: A supply chain in crisis
"This award is a real tribute to the entire team—editors, designers, and production—that Cristina has put together at FleetOwner. And the award-winning issue is a great illustration of how FleetOwner helps define the trucking industry," said Jones, who leads Endeavor Business Media's Commercial Vehicle Group. "I'm also pleased that the issue features contributions from editors with other brands in our Commercial Vehicle Group, a demonstration of our breadth of coverage: operations, maintenance, specialty applications, and equipment manufacturing."
Fisher also was a Neal finalist for his coverage of the 2021 infrastructure bill and how it would affect the trucking, freight, and transportation industries.
"The FleetOwner team doesn’t work for awards and accolades," said Travis Hessman, Endeavor Business Media VP of Content. "These editors are focused every day on understanding their markets better than anyone else, on creating the highest-quality content possible to give their readers what they need to succeed, and on the pursuit of excellence in everything they do."
Hessman continued: "It is a fitting result that these ongoing efforts earned a Neal Award—the highest honor available in this field—not for a single editor or a single article, but for the full team on a full issue that exemplifies everything FleetOwner does best: relentlessly serving the reader through relentlessly solid reporting and truly remarkable writing."
Several other Endeavor Business Media publications were award finalists. Robert Brelsford, the downstream editor at Oil & Gas Journal, won the Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity. The award recognizes those who serve as the conscience of their publication and fearlessly support important industry causes. They stand up to outside pressures—from advertisers, industry executives, or upper management—that threaten to interfere to place readers first and maintain independent, honest, and ethical journalism.
Water & Wastes Digest, which Endeavor Business Media acquired last month, won the Neal Award for Best Media Brand for overall editorial excellence. Other brands of Endeavor Business Media that were finalists included Mass Transit and T&D World.
The Jesse H. Neal Awards are considered the most prestigious editorial honors in specialized business journalism. Established in 1955, the award was named after American Business Media’s first managing editor.
