The ''Waterways Journal Weekly'' is the news journal of record for the

towing Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...

and

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

industry on the

inland waterways of the United States The inland waterways of the United States include more than of navigable waters. Much of the commercially important waterways of the United States consist of the Mississippi River System—the Mississippi River and connecting waterways. E ...

, chiefly the watershed of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

and its tributaries and the

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterwa ...

. Known as ''The Riverman’s Bible'', the periodical has been published continuously from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, since 1887. Published by H. Nelson Spencer, it is the only American maritime publication that focuses exclusively on the

, and is one of the few remaining family-owned, advertiser-supported trade weeklies of any description.

Features

One of the magazine’s most popular features is a river-history column called the Old Boat Column that runs each week, generally on the third to last page. The Old Boat Column is of particular interest to non-specialist readers with a general interest in the history of the inland waterways. The column was written for decades by James V. Swift (1916–2002) who worked for The Waterways Journal in various capacities for 60 years. After Swift, River Hall of Fame recipient and boat architect Alan L. Bates wrote the column for many years until his death on New Year's Day, 2012 and then by Keith Norrington, director/curator of the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville, Indiana, from 2012 to 2022. Since then the column has been written by Capt. David Smith. The publication’s wide-ranging news articles provide a window into the people and technology behind a robust major sector of industrial transport in the United States. Topics covered include

towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squar ...

launches and christenings, inland

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

, lock and dam construction, marine salvage, admiralty law, the Army Corps of Engineers, dredging news, inland ports and terminals,

and

construction and launches, new technology relating to towboats, and regulations of the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

, Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies that affect inland waterways commerce, as well as news about major commodities that travel the waterways, such as grain, coal, steel and fertilizer. The Waterways Journal also closely cover the actions of organizations that support waterways interests, including the Waterways Council Inc. (WCI), the

American Waterways Operators The American Waterways Operators, is the national trade association for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry. For more than 60 years AWO has promoted the contribution of the domestic waterways transportation industry to the U.S. economy. A ...

(AWO), National Waterways Conference, Inland Rivers Ports and Terminals, and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA).

Editorials An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, such ...

in the journal often address federal, state and local

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

as they relate to the rivers and waterways and those who used them for transport. The Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library, housed at the

University of Missouri at St. Louis A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, is developing a keyword-searchable archive of past Waterways Journal issues.

Other publications

The Waterways Journal publishes several authoritative

reference works A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to ...

for the river industry. These include the Inland River Record, a complete listing of inland commercial vessels updated annually, and th
Inland River Guide
an annual directory of companies with waterways-related business, including barge and towing companies; harbor fleeting companies; terminals; shipyard and repair facilities; refuelers and boat store companies; contractors and dredging companies; marine brokers, surveyors and insurers; diving and salvage companies; and distributors and manufacturers that have an inland waterways customer base. It also annually publishes Quimby's Cruising Guide, an authoritative guide for pleasure boaters to 9,436 miles of waterway on 22 rivers and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Arranged by river, then river mile, it includes information on

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, towns, restaurants,

bed and breakfasts Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

, landmarks, and local history. Since 1989, The Waterways Journal Inc. has published Heartland Boating, a Midwestern pleasure boating magazine that publishes 8 times a year. Since 2009, The Waterways Journal Inc. has published the bi-monthly International Dredging Review. Edited by founder Judith Powers, the IDR covers the international dredging industry, related industries, and their customers, including but not limited to public and private ports and government agencies, environmental and land reclamation interests, hydrographic surveyors, and vendors to the dredging industry. In June 2012, The Waterways Journal acquired and publishes Marina Dock Age, a magazine dedicated to dockyard and boatyard management and edited by Anna Townshend that publishes 8 issues a year. In 2013, The Waterways Journal expanded from publishing into event management by creating, producing and organizing the first annual Inland Marine Expo (IMX), which has become an important annual event and showcase for the inland river community and those who supply and serve it. Between January 2015 and 2019, The Waterways Journal had a publishing relationship with Terrain magazine, founded by Brad Kovach, which covers "outdoor fitness, adventure and discovery" in St. Louis and the Midwest.

References

External links

''Waterways Journal Weekly'' official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterways Journal Business magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1887 Magazines published in St. Louis Transport magazines published in the United States Weekly magazines published in the United States Water transport