Glittering occasion puts achievements in the limelight, with promise of many more to come
By Rob McKay | October 10, 2011
Australasian Transport News (ATN) celebrated its 300th edition on Friday night in Melbourne, amidst the automotive pomp of Lindsay Fox’s car collection and with many of the industry’s best and brightest in attendance.
Following a presentation by social analyst and commentator David Chalke on the timelessness of human desires and values – many elements of which, he said, were missing presently in Australia’s public sphere – ATN Managing Editor Graham Gardiner spoke on the vision and authority that had helped the magazine achieve its milestone.
“From the outset ATN’s vision was to deliver a “new type of magazine for the road transport industry” – an authoritative ‘Management Magazine for Transport Operators’ as it clearly stated on its cover; one that, in contrast to its competitors, both then and now, provided more than just news and reviews of the latest and greatest shiny trucks, but vital news and information on business and industry issues that directly affected the efficiency and profitability of road transport businesses,” Gardiner said.
“Twenty six years on this vision remains the same, with ATN still the only industry publication to cover important industry issues in a meaningful and authoritative way. Sure we cover the vital area of equipment news and issues, but it’s one part of a broader, more comprehensive content offering.”
Gardiner emphasised the magazine’s long-term backing for key events and initiatives as part of a promotion of the concept of an ‘industry’, from the Road Transport Industry Forum (now the ATA) in the early 1990s, to the Brisbane Truck Show in early in the last decade.
“And it’s why we’ve now launched the 2012 Transport Census, the largest-ever research project aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the nation’s transport and logistics sector – including the people who work in it and the key issues they’re facing. To be released in early 2012, the key findings of this landmark study will be shared with industry to help improve the understanding of the critical but complex issues the sector is confronting,” he added.
Gardiner also emphasised ‘innovation’ as a ‘timeless value’, noting that ATN has been amongst the first publications “to embrace the power of the internet to deliver news and other vital information to readers faster and more efficiently than print allowed” back in 1996.
He also underlined the magazine’s speed and timeliness, pointing out that “in print, an advertisement booked and supplied on a Thursday will be in front of key decision makers in less than seven working days – in stark contrast to some of its competitors now printing offshore with a three month lead time”.
