Equipment World staff were honored by the Construction Media Alliance with three awards for editorial excellence at a ceremony held September 27, 2023, at The Utility Expo, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Chief Editor Jordanne Waldschmidt, Executive Editor Don McLoud and Senior Editor Ryan Whisner won Best Series for Construction’s Silent Killer, a four-part report on the state of mental health in the construction industry. The series featured firsthand accounts from contractors struggling with mental health challenges, advice from renowned mental health experts and an independent research study exploring why the construction industry has the highest rate of suicide of any industry and what can be done about it.
McLoud also took home an award for Best Feature for his article, “Why Did 39 Workers Die in Trenches in 2022 – the Most in 18 Years?” Safety experts give their views on what caused so many deaths – up from 15 in 2021 – and how a repeat can be prevented. Equipment World is one of the few major industry publications that has consistently covered trench and excavation safety over the past decade. The magazine’s June 2018 special report, “Death by Trench,” won the Jesse H. Neal award for Best Single Issue from Connective, the Business Information Association, a division of SIIA.
The team’s third award came in the category of Best Website. The easy-to-navigate website offers a regular cadence of high-quality, unique content promoted across multiple inbound channels. Equipment World dramatically increased its production of search-friendly video content in the past two years, with more than 100 videos produced to date in 2023 alone. Beyond a robust content catalog, heavy attention is given to search, ADA compliance and user experience.
In addition, Bryan Furnace, host of Equipment World’s weekly video series The Dirt, was named Best Individual Social Media Presence/Best Industry “Personality.” The show’s regular equipment test runs provide the audience with an operator’s perspective on the latest equipment and technology, while interviews with industry experts take a deeper dive into new products and the most significant issues impacting contractors.
Founded in 2009, the Construction Media Alliance is a network of construction industry journalists, public relations professionals, marketers, publishers and social media contributors. The peer-voted awards highlight excellence in construction industry journalism, communications, content and storytelling. Hyundai Construction Equipment and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers sponsored the 2023 program. Whisner attended on behalf of the team to accept the awards.
"The entrants for the 2023 awards program were notable for a desire to embrace serious and weighty topics related to the construction industry — all able to deliver these topics in a compelling way within the world of heavy industry in North America," says Bill Elverman, executive director of the Construction Media Alliance and co-owner of PKA | True North. "Each winner was judged for excellence by a panel of peers who have worked in various disciplines of marketing and journalism in the construction industry — weighing each for an understanding of the industry and its people, as well as overall skill in communications."
“Equipment World continues to evolve to deliver top-tier content to our audience of construction professionals. Our team of dedicated journalists tackle the tough issues our readers face in an increasingly complex business environment,” says Waldschmidt. “It is an honor to win these awards from the people who know the construction industry the best.”
