The Crack in the ATA’s Media Empire

This week, something happened in trucking media that most people missed – but those paying attention felt the shift.

Craig Fuller, founder of FreightWaves, just called out Transport Topics – the long-standing media mouthpiece funded by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) – and he did it publicly, with numbers that hit like a hammer.

FreightWaves, which launched just seven years ago, is now outpacing TTNews in every major digital metric:

• 1.16 million monthly visits vs. 286,000
• 637,000 unique visitors vs. 192,000
• 2.38 million page views vs. 473,000

Fuller didn’t mince words.  After laying out the data, he dropped this:

“Must suck to lose his position as the most important…”

No names needed.  The scoreboard did the talking.

This wasn’t just a numbers fight.  It was a shot at control – and the ATA is losing its grip.

The ATA’s Narrative Machine Is Crumbling

Let’s be honest: for decades, Transport Topics has been the ATA’s shield.  It’s pushed the narratives the elites needed to maintain power – from the manufactured “driver shortage” myth to glowing press about automation, overregulation, and cheap foreign labor.

They packaged it as “news.”  But to us behind the wheel, it read more like propaganda.

Now, the cracks are showing.

FreightWaves isn’t perfect – but it’s disrupting the ATA echo chamber.  It’s asking harder questions, using real data, and refusing to regurgitate ATA press releases. And Fuller?  He just said publicly what most insiders only whisper:

The old guard is out of touch.

And their influence is fading.

Why It Matters to Drivers

This might look like a media feud – but it’s bigger than that.

For years, the ATA didn’t just shape policy.  They shaped perception.  And that’s how they got away with:

• Suppressing driver wages
• Flooding the industry with undertrained visa labor
• Selling surveillance and automation as “innovation”
• Silencing real, experienced drivers

Their media machine polished it up and sold it back to America as progress.

Now?  That machine is breaking down.

So when their flagship outlet gets buried in public – by a younger, louder, data-driven competitor – it’s not just a headline. It’s a warning shot.

Give Credit – Then Look Deeper

Craig Fuller deserves credit.

He brought receipts. He didn’t pull punches. He exposed the rift between reality and the ATA’s curated message – and he did it with confidence.

That’s rare in trucking media.  Most outlets tiptoe around the ATA. FreightWaves didn’t.

But now it’s time to take the next step.  We need to ask:

• What other ATA narratives are built on sand?
• What truths about labor, pay, and control have been buried to protect corporate power?
• And who, if anyone, is truly willing to put drivers back at the center?

Don’t Miss This Moment

This isn’t just a feud between two outlets.  It’s a moment of exposure.

It proves corporate media isn’t invincible.  That platforms built on truth, data, and courage can still break through the noise.

But most of all, it’s a reminder:

Drivers can’t afford to stay quiet.

Because when the media machine cracks – even a little – that’s our opening to speak louder, dig deeper, and tell the truth they’ve spent decades trying to control.

This is that moment.  Don’t miss it.

Will Cook | A Driver’s Perspective