The strength of the HDT Talks Trucking podcast helped Heavy Duty Trucking's editorial team earn finalist positions for two Jesse H. Neal awards for their coverage of autonomous trucks, electric trucks, and truck driver health.

On May 10, the Software & Information Industry Association announced the finalists for the 67th Jesse H. Neal Awards – the premier awards program honoring business-to-business (B2B) journalism. Winners will be announced during a special awards ceremony held virtually on June 9, 2021.

HDT editors were finalists in two categories:

Best Podcast: HDT Talks Trucking

Equipment Editor and HDT Talks Trucking Host Jim Park, Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge, and Senior Editor Jack Roberts. Episodes entered:

• Season 1 Episode 2 - How Far Have We Come with Electric Trucks? 

• Special Report: Surviving COVID-19

• Season 4 Episode 6 – Why We Need Sleep

Best Technical/Scientific Content: Autonomous truck technology

Equipment Editor Jim Park. This entry also highlighted the HDT Talks Trucking podcast, with the entry consisting of two podcast episodes as well as a digital feature.

• Inside the Cab of an Autonomous Truck

• Are Autonomous Trucks Ready for the Road? 

• Cops & Robots: How Do We Enforce Robotic Trucks? 

About the Neal Awards

Representing a range of digital and traditional content disciplines, 235 Neal Award finalists were carefully selected following a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation process by peer professionals, according to SIIA.

A total of 59 winners will be announced at the June ceremony, culminating in the Grand Neal Award, honoring the most outstanding entry from among the winners in all categories. A panel of more than 80 judges reviewed the finalists in three stages to select the winners in 24 categories.

“The Neal Awards have long recognized the best of the best in B2B journalism,” said SIIA President Jeff Joseph. “We are particularly proud of this year’s honorees, who produced reliable data, content, and services during a period of global upheaval and uncertainty – an era in which producing trusted, accurate information that provides critical business intelligence took on increased importance, perhaps more so than any time ever before.”

Last year, HDT editors were finalists in four categories, with Jim Park taking home a Neal Award for Best Range of Work by a Single Author, “the highest individual honor for an editor," according to the Neal organizers. HDT editors have been finalists, and frequently winners, in nine out of the last 10 years of the competition. Overall, HDT's editorial team has earned 30 Neal awards and 44 finalist/certificate of merit honors over the years, as well as two Grand Neals.