A Note To Our Readers
We serve an industry that is always on the move and forever seeking ways to improve, whether it be making an already cost-effective, safe and environmentally friendly mode of transportation even better, or further growing its strong workforce. We owe it to you to do the same! The Waterways Journal and its family of products and services, including Inland Marine Expo, Inland River Guide and Inland River Record must, like you, always look to the future.
We are happy to announce several changes that we hope will improve the reader experience and further add value.
First, and you may barely notice this change, designers and editorial staff have elected to increase the size and spacing of fonts for news pages in our print edition. It is our hope that it makes reading The Waterways Journal easier. We provide qualified news and information, and we want you to be able to read all of it with ease. What do you think?
Second, we are further developing our team to best serve your needs. We are pleased to introduce you to three new names on our masthead.
Rhonda Mays is available to assist with advertising and marketing needs. Her focus will be serving customers based in the Northern stretches of our readership, including those bordering the Great Lakes. Jordyn Fisher is a talented graphic designer with a newly earned degree in fine arts who will assist in production of our publications and help advertisers with design needs.
Zachary Jenkins has joined us to help assure that the data that we publish is accurate and of ever-increasing value. He will be working to assure Inland River Guide, Inland River Record and sister publications including IDR Annual Directory and Greenwood’s Guide to Great Lakes Shipping are more accurate than ever before!
Data Reporting: Reports, Graphics And New Insights
You will notice that Zachary’s title on the masthead is Data Reporter. Starting soon we hope to provide you more data via reports and graphics within the pages of The Waterways Journal. We are listening and understand that there is a need for both more and more accurate data. Barge fleet data is where we intend to start, but we also aim to leverage what we currently gather and what is currently available elsewhere on towing vessels, dredges, shipyards, ports, commodities and more. The possibilities are nearly endless. A survey on workforce development or new technology, maybe? Soon we will be able to offer you custom and exclusive reporting on what you decide is important. We will be working with owners and operators, and you—our readers—to determine what is valuable, and then we will share it as added value to your existing print and/or digital subscription or in some cases your registration to Inland Marine Expo.
The Waterways Journal offers the value of a legitimate source for news media covering the businesses and people who depend on our marine highways. We have four full-time, experienced journalists dedicated to your needs. We want to build on our 135-year-long legacy, constantly add value.
We have made it this long thanks to our readers and advertisers. We appreciate you and are always eager to hear your thoughts. Please never hesitate to contact us with ideas or suggestions on how to best serve your needs.
