The Truck Writers of North America presented its annual Communications Awards in March at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, KY.

Land Line Magazine and OOIDA’s XM Satellite Radio show, “Land Line Now,” won a combined 15 awards, including Best of Radio for 2005, which recognizes the best entry among all radio entrants, regardless of category.

The top radio award went to Reed Black, who wrote and reported on the process of coal gasification. With fuel prices sky-rocketing in the latter months of 2005, the collective attention of lawmakers and consumers alike turned toward alternative fuels. Black’s award-winning piece took an in-depth look at the process of squeezing liquid fuels out of coal and the feasibility for such production in the future.

Black is a staff writer for both the radio show and the magazine. He has more than 30 years of reporting experience. A University of Missouri Journalism School graduate, Black began his career with the Armed Forces Vietnam Network. He later was a reporter and news anchor at various television and radio stations – including the ABC and CBS affiliates in Kansas City, MO. He anchors the daily “Land Line Now” news on XM’s Open Road Channel 171 and makes regular contributions to Land Line.

Other awards won by Land Line and “Land Line Now” were:

• Gold in the Radio Environmental/Regulatory category to Reed Black for “Coal Gasification”
• Gold in the Magazine Environmental/Regulatory category to Mark H. Reddig for “Texas Tea ... and Sweet Smell of Success”
• Silver in the Magazine Business category to Terry Scruton for “Don’t Feed the Sharks”
• Silver in the Magazine Investigative category to Jami Jones for “And They Keep Calling”
• Silver in the Magazine Technical General category to Mark H. Reddig for “Wireless to the Max”
• Silver in the Magazine Technical Pictorial category to Paul Abelson for “The Crisis of Corrosion”
• Silver in the Radio Technical How To category to Mark H. Reddig for “Veggie Mack”
• Bronze in the Magazine Commentary category to Coral Beach for “Driver Training: Dirty Little Secrets”
• Bronze for Magazine Editorial to Sandi Soendker for “Operation Tennessee Waltz”
• Bronze for Magazine Driver’s Lifestyle category to Mark H. Reddig for “Something Wasn’t Right”
• Bronze in the Magazine Feature category to Jami Jones for “Dash Cam Defense”
• Bronze in the Magazine News category to Mark H. Reddig for “USIS in the Mix”
• Bronze in the Magazine Public Service category to Keith Goble for the “State Legislative Directory”
• Bronze in the Magazine Travel category to Mark H. Reddig for “Celebrating the Season of Light”
• Bronze in the Radio Driver’s Lifestyle to Jami Jones for “Truck Driving in Iraq”

The Truck Writers of North America’s annual contest recognizes excellence in trucking industry journalism in both the trade and mainstream press. The entries came from both members of the group and non-member journalists.