What is CWA?
The Construction Writers Association (CWA) is a non-profit,
non-partisan international organisation for professional journalists, writers
editors and publicists serving information needs of the construction industry.
The group strives to provide educational benefits and story ideas to its membership.
The group holds regular meetings that provide valuable
networking opportunities and informative seminars geared to helping journalists
and public relations officers gain a better understanding of the industry they serve.
CWA also promotes excellence in construction journalism through a comprehensive awards
program that recognises the outstanding work of construction writers. CWA journalism
awards honour writers in categories such as news, feature articles, editorials and
website development. CWA's new marketing communications awards honour work in public relations,
corporate ad advertising categories.
A quarterly newsletter, CWA News, informs membership about the association's
current activities, announces important industry developments, publicises upcoming
industry meetings and lists job opportunities. The CWA's new website, www.constructionwriters.org,
offers similar information plus an extensive links section, a calendar of industry events,
and a members-only section that includes the association's membership directory.
Group History
CWA was founded and incorporated in the state of New York in 1958 as an
outgrowth of an informal gathering of construction magazine and newspaper editors and writers
and writers covering the 1956 meeting of the Association of State Highway Officials of the
Atlantic States. The association began holding meetings each spring in Washington D.C. During
the 1990's, the membership broadened to include publicists working for companies, associations
, and agencies. A midyear meeting was established at a fall event in Chicago. Membership first
exceeded 200 in 1999.
CWA Purposes and Objectives
A group of professional business press editors and newspaper journalists,
writing for and about the construction industry, recognised the need for a professional
organisation that would:
Lend prestige and professional status to specialist editors and writers whose
business is to cover news of activities and to report on developments in construction.
Enhance the public's image of the construction industry through authoritive,
accurate, and unbiased reporting of construction activities and developments.
Help to improve the quality of reporting, writing, editing, and photography
that appears in the construction business press, in public relations releases concerning
construction events, and in marketing material promoting construction services and products.
Provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information sources among
professional journalists and public relations professionals serving the construction industry.
Who We Are?
We are a group of more than 250 journalists, editors, freelancers, public relations
specialists and marketing professional. We represent international construction publications,
design and construction firms, equipment manufacturers and distributors, materials producers
and suppliers, building trades and construction unions, professional and technical societies,
trade associations, and government information offices. We share a desire to establish an
interactive communications network that links the construction business press with the industry they
cover. Regular (voting) membership is open to any professionally qualified person who writes or
edits construction news or who develops construction information. Corporate (non-voting)
membership is open to companies or organisations wishing to support CWA.
Benefits of Membership
CWA creates a forum for sharing ideas, information and resources with a network of your peers.
You will be invited to exclusive press conferences and gatherings with top officials
in government and industry.
CWA's educational offerings and workshops at the association's annual meeting, mid year
meeting and periodic informal gatherings are designed to improve news-gathering effectiveness, increase
construction industry awareness and identify industry information sources.
You will be eligible for prestigious journalism awards and newly established
marketing communications awards.
So, get connected! Join CWA and find a network of your peers who share
your passion for the construction industry and for excellence in construction journalism.
Contact Details
European enquiries should be directed to:
The Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research Centre (OPERC), Department of Civil and
Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK, LE11 3TU. Email: operc@aol.com
All other international enquiries should be directed to:
Construction Writers Association, PO Box 5586, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-5586,
United States of America. Tel: (847) 398-7756; Fax: (847) 590-5241; Email:office@constructionwriters.org
Mr Mike Anderson, Equipment Journal, 5160 Explorer Dr., Unit 6, Mississauga, ON,
Canada, L4W 4T7. Tel: 905-629-7500; Fax: 905-629-7988; Email:editor@equipmentjournal.com
