Much more digital content on the way – subscribe now
By Linda Hsieh, Editor & Publisher
At IADC, this magazine – Drilling Contractor – is part of our heritage. Its publication kicked off just four years after the association was founded in 1940, while it was still known as the American Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors. Over the past 82 years, the magazine has been through much of the same ups and downs as the drilling industry itself, but the association never wavered on its value as part of its member service package. Members continually recognized the value of having a professionally published magazine dedicated to drilling contractors, their rigs and their industry. No other professional publication in the world has such a dedicated focused on drilling.
And in a world where the general public – and many forms of mass media – continue to trade in misinformation and falsehoods about our industry, it’s more important than ever that IADC, on behalf of its members, publishes news about what is actually happening. Innovations in drilling automation? Check. Training programs that ensure workforce competency and protect the safety of our rig crews? Check. Rig upgrades that improve drilling efficiency and reduce costs? Check.
IADC is not moving away from that mission, but starting in January we are going to pivot how we deliver the news. That is being driven by changes in the reading habits of the audience we’re trying to reach. Think about it – when was the last time you turned to a paper copy of a newspaper or magazine as your news source? Comparatively, how many times in just the past week have you turned to a digital source like a news website or a form of social media?
Just to be sure we’re going in the right direction, we did our due diligence. Over the past year, DC has worked with a professional agency on a broad, global survey to find out where our members – seasoned and young professionals, and even students – are getting their news about the industry. The results reaffirmed our assumptions that, while members still value and are loyal to our magazine, we were losing out on potential touchpoints with them by focusing on a bi-monthly print publication.
Starting in 2027, we’re going to start diverting much more of our resources to delivering digital content. We’ll stay committed to all things drilling in what we cover, but much more of it will be in formats suitable for our website DrillingContractor.org, our e-newsletter and our social media channels. For those who still love our print magazine – and we know through our research that there are still a lot of you – we will continue publishing this magazine three times a year. So, please, make sure you’re signed up for email notifications of our digital content, using the QR code or link below. Even if you already get the print magazine, we may not have your email. Sign up now to stay tuned for our Digital Transformation! DC
Linda Hsieh can be reached at linda.hsieh@iadc.org.
