‘Live From Exit 24’ celebrates 45 years of Land Line Magazine

A new generation of truck drivers might wonder why Land Line is the name of the official publication of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

In a special episode of “Live From Exit 24,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer and former Land Line editor-in-chief and current OOIDA historian Sandi Soendker explained the origin of the name and looked back on the history of the magazine as it enjoys its 45th year. OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh hosted the hourlong episode.

OOIDA was founded in 1973, and Land Line Magazine was started in 1975 as a way to bring the news to small-business truckers that wasn’t being delivered through the mainstream media or the existing trucking publications.

“As an organization representing and advocating on behalf of truckers, we knew that no one else would do that for us or would do it effectively, or tell the views and issues that truckers really believed were important,” Spencer said, who was hired to be OOIDA’s communication director and editor of Land Line in 1981. “We were going to. We weren’t going to rely on any other entity.”

Why is it called Land Line?

Land Line offered a direct connection from OOIDA to its members and prospective members, which is brings us to the name. Before the days of everyone having a smartphone with them at all times, a landline phone was the truckers’ way to communicate with their friends and family back home.

“A landline was the surest way to reach someone,” Soendker said. “It used to be, ‘Catch you on the landline.’ I heard truckers say that years ago. That’s it, and that’s what I think the Association’s mission to the magazine is. We’ve got to reach our members. We’ve got to reach truckers … We needed to get the information in their hands. We needed to find the surest way to reach those guys. We have, and we still do in every way – from radio to social media, online, print magazine. We have to get the information out there to them.”

The first issues were more reminiscent of a newsletter than a magazine. To help the magazine take a step forward, Spencer sold his truck to help purchase a typesetting machine.

Soendker was hired in 1987 and remained at Land Line until she retired in 2017. Spencer and Soendker will share their thoughts from the early days of OOIDA and the importance of the Association having its own media outlet to inform truckers.

Today, Land Line Magazine is published nine times a year and read by more than 218,000 owner-operators, company drivers and others affiliated with the trucking industry. Over the years, OOIDA’s communication tools have also expanded to Land Line Now and LandLine.Media.

Next episode of ‘Live From Exit 24’

“Live From Exit 24,” which is OOIDA’s new audio-only internet talk show, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central every other Wednesday. Listeners can tune in to the show on the Live From Exit 24 website, OOIDA Facebook page or on OOIDA’s YouTube channel. It will return to its live call-in format on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Survey

“Live From Exit 24” launched earlier this year as a way to expand OOIDA’s communication with members and to hear directly from drivers across the industry.
OOIDA is asking for truck drivers to fill out a survey to let the Association know how you are liking the show so far. The survey can be found here.  LL