Transport Topics' 'CDL or Bust' Series Wins National Honor
Transport Topics has won a national award for its CDL or Bust daily online series that traced the efforts of seven students to earn commercial driver licenses and become professional truck drivers.
The American Society of Business Publication Editors presented a silver award to Transport Topics in the Web Microsite/Special Section category at a national awards luncheon May 18 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The project followed seven CDL candidates who allowed Transport Topics to document their goals of making midlife career changes and becoming truck drivers. Each student endured 16 days of grueling 10-hour training sessions, followed by a test administered by Kentucky State Police. Through daily blog posts, photos and video, Transport Topics illustrated the rigors that a prospective truck driver goes through trying to earn that CDL.
Named to the award were: Digital Media Editor Gary Kicinski, former TT Staff Reporter David Elfin, freelance photographer John Sommers III, Web Director Michael Benfield and Marketing Director Tara McClelland.
"CDL or Bust was a groundbreaking effort for Transport Topics — our first daily web series and our first web microsite," Transport Topics Executive Editor Joe Howard said. "We are pleased that the hard work and innovative efforts from multiple departments earned this recognition from the judges of other business publications."
CDL or Bust had won a silver ASBPE regional award in the same category earlier this year. Transport Topics also won a silver ASBPE regional award in the Special Supplement category for the July 2016 issue of iTECH, "On the Road to Automation."
