Here's why you don't see a lot of trucking reporters
(I have a few new subscribers to this newsletter. Welcome! Usually I do a list of three big trucking stories or a write-up of one particular trend. This week is the latter.)
Hello all!
First of all, apologies for not sending a newsletter last week. I had a logistics challenge of my own — moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn amid a global pandemic and shutdown of non-essential services while actually in Michigan. But against all odds, I succeeded.
Next, I want to talk a little bit about why there are so few reporters who cover the trucking industry, which is worth $800 billion and employs millions of people. This is a fascinating beat with a lot of money and interesting characters, but, particularly at non-business news organizations, it's somewhat of a ghost town. (I have no idea if anyone wants to read this media critique, so apologies if this is boring.)
The typical explanation is that reporters are myopic, coastal numbnuts who don't understand how the rest of the country works. (Honestly, I'm not going to argue with you on that.)
But let's also look at how the trucking industry is structured. There are more than 200,000 trucking companies. Of that giant group, just 11% have six or greater trucks, and 1% have 50 or greater. About 400,000 truck drivers just work for themselves; they're call owner-operators.
For a reporter, that means it's difficult to get a snapshot of how the trucking industry works. It's pretty common for mainstream outlets, when they do cover trucking, to approach the American Trucking Associations (ATA) for data (like, the data in the previous paragraph). But, as I wrote in my last newsletter, the ATA represents only the largest trucking companies, not the mom-and-pops.
It's much easier to, say, report on the grocery industry, where Walmart, Kroger, and something apparently called Albertsons (what is this?!?!?!) dominate the market.
That means it's not as easy to affect change. My colleagues on the retail beat regularly get big scoops on how these companies function, and can often force them to change their company policies (like my coworker who just got Hobby Lobby to shutter their rogue locations). There are too many companies in the trucking industry to be able to meaningfully influence one big company, and not much of the public is even aware of these companies.
There's a more insidious reason, though: the lack of investment on the side of the trucking companies into any sort of media relations. I was reminded of this when I reported a story this week about how trucking giants aren't making available clear sick policies for their truck drivers, and one public company is even encouraging drivers to self-quarantine in their trucks.
At many major trucking companies, the experience of getting a PR to respond to an email, let alone build a good relationship, is frustrating. A few have made a good effort into this, but that's rare.
I was texting with a friend who has experience on the corporate trucking side and the media the other day about this. He said there's a distrust of the media among the trucking companies — as there is among most folks who don't often interact with journalists. Still, these are executives at immensely powerful, publicly-traded companies who I am trying to get in touch with; the power dynamic is clearly not in my favor.
Ultimately, of course, the people who lose out the most from companies who don't invest in PR, and from the generally decentralized nature of the trucking industry, are the truck drivers. It takes a lot of work to find their stories and report them out. I think that if more reporters took the time to unravel this industry, we'd see more representation and progress for what was once one of America's greatest blue-collar jobs.
I am sure there are other undercovered (or just uncovered) industries. What do you think? Where else are reporters missing the story?
Send me a note about anything interesting. Preferably related to trucking or logistics. Until then, see ya next week!
— Rachel