Rod Hannifey reflects on the changing climate of truck media, and what that means for industry.
My dear friend Ken Wilkie wrote for Owner//Driver’s first edition 25 years ago. I both recognise and commend his and the magazine’s longevity and persistence in an industry where everyone else wants to tell us what to do, but few would do it themselves.
A lot has changed since Owner//Driver first appeared in print. Andrew Stewart, under the banner of Publishing Services Australia, owned the publication back then and spent years of his life dedicated to it and the voice it offered drivers. He invited me to write a column after winning the driver of the year in 2001 and I have only missed one column since. Surely you would agree pneumonia is a good excuse.
Trucks have improved to be near cars in some features and aspects, some roads have improved from dirt and mud, the job has changed in so many ways, not all good, some might argue. So where have we come from and where are we going?
Years ago I read a book They Came Like Waves by Jeffrey Frost which describes the real start of the road transport industry in Australia after the Second World War. It is a terrific read. He followed that up with Trucks, Politics and the High Court which was not quite as wide a coverage, nor as interesting a read. It covers in detail the Hughes and Vale case where the road transport industry, after defeat in the High Court of Australia, went to the Privy Council in London and on 17/11/1954, 63 years ago, they won, confirming Section 92, that interstate trade between states must be ‘free’.
We are still fighting for a fair go for an industry that continues to provide for all Australians. I fear many do not recognise our contribution. Too often in the press we are the bad guys after a crash, yet rarely is the true party at fault recognised until much later, buried somewhere on page 23 after a banner headline of a ‘Truck Crash’ which implies guilt by default.
Even when they use statistics against us, showing the number of cars and trucks, they do not compare apples with apples. They show vehicle numbers, but not kilometres travelled.
Join an association
We have industry associations but too few will join for whatever reason. The union does not cover it all, so how do we get to you, the driver? How do you get your views to others and to those who we hope might listen and even occasionally, change things? We do that through this magazine.
The pace of life and the rate of change continues to increase. Owner//Driver itself is also now available online. However, the majority of us are getting older and would agree that we are perhaps used to reading information in print instead of looking at it on a screen.
Getting to truck drivers and getting information to them is still hard work. Having Owner//Driver available in truck stops is to me still the best way for many to keep up with what’s going on.
Letters to the editor are still popular and a good way to get your views heard. Simply having the magazine and being able to read it when you want is still better than having to wait to pick up a good signal to give you want you want. I still read Owner//Driver from front to back, along with online news and other industry press to try and keep up.
Twenty-five years of reporting on industry news and views from the many editors, staff and contributors, as well as the stories of drivers, events and the people is surely worthy of recognition.
Into battle
Does this magazine make a difference? Some have said to me the stories are the same and nothing has changed and in some ways I agree we are still fighting many of the same battles our forebears did. But I hope you would agree that without Owner//Driver and of course other industry press (how many of you remember Truck and Bus magazine?) and the interaction it has offered, we would be worse off.
When you can pick up a copy at most truck stops across Australia and learn of what has happened to other drivers and what changes are afoot, then you at least have a chance to comment and/or pursue those things. I have certainly argued that those who seek such changes need to give the magazine more lead time so they can have it before us in a timely manner and thereby allow us to participate and or contribute.
Giving such news to us when the closing date for submissions happens just after the magazine comes out, some would say is nearly deliberate and then means many do not know, nor can they then make comment to see things changed for the better.
It is a bit like too many things now where you become responsible for knowing such events or other pieces of information. If you don’t bother to pass it on, then it is not the magazine’s fault that none of us are able to contribute.
The online presence is changing such things for many and will continue to impact our lives, but as yet we do not have a completely free and Australia-wide service for all, particularly on the road. Some wi-fi sites are fine for Facebook, but not for major documents, so we need to be able to both read and access such things, but also to see other’s views.
Please check out ‘TRUCK That’, episode 2, at www.whitelinetv.com and let us know what you think and if this might be yet another way to interact with drivers.
Congratulations to Owner//Driver on 25 years of service to the Australian truckie, whether they are a company or owner-driver. You have tried to help and guide us and provide us with news and views.
I wish this publication another 25 years of success and continued effort towards those aims.
With that, may I wish you all a Merry Christmas and ‘Trucking Good 2018’.