What Recognition and Editorial Background Does Wreck Diving Magazine Have?

Wreck Diving Magazine presents itself as an award-recognized publication with an editor who has consulted for television, and its site lists two specific honors: being voted "Best Publication" by the Eurotek Dive Symposium and the California Wreck Divers Club, and receiving a California Wreck Divers Hall of Fame award. These claims come from the magazine's own website, so they indicate how the publication positions itself rather than an independent audit. If you are weighing whether to read or cite it, the useful signals are the named awarding bodies, the editor's credited TV work, and the publication's activity record (issue numbering, events, and a related nonprofit).

Recognition the Site Claims

Both honors come from within the wreck-diving community rather than general media, which is consistent with a niche publication. The site does not give dates or voting details for either award, so treat them as the magazine's stated credentials.

Editorial Background

• Editor: Joe Porter is identified as editor of Wreck Diving Magazine (WDM).
• Television consulting: The site states that WDM consults for the popular TV show Hawaii Five-O, and a news item notes Joe Porter's consulting role for the series.
• Editorial scope: Content is built around named wreck dives and maritime history—for example the President Coolidge, SS Pommerania, the Dunkirk Schooner, Truk Lagoon, and the Dreadnoughts series—plus a behind-the-scenes look at the National Geographic series Drain the Oceans.

This mix suggests the editorial background leans on wreck-diving practice and shipwreck history, with some crossover into documentary and TV production.

Activity Beyond the Magazine

The site ties the publication to organized diving and exploration activity:

• Wreck-Week in Morehead City, North Carolina — the magazine reports completing the event and posting photos.
• Shipwreck Exploration Society (SES) — described as a nonprofit 501(C)3 created by the magazine to fund exploration, with a stated project to locate a B-17 that crashed off Germany in WWII.
• Current issue — the homepage promotes Issue 46 as on newsstands, with a digital edition available through zinio.com.

How to Weigh These Credentials

Use the recognition as a starting point, not a final verdict:

1. Check the awarding bodies. Eurotek Dive Symposium and California Wreck Divers are the named sources; their own records are the place to confirm the awards.
2. Look at bylines and issue history. The site shows a numbered run (Issue 46) and a named editor, which lets you trace who wrote what.
3. Separate journalism from advocacy. SES fundraising and the B-17 project are the magazine's own initiatives; read those pages as organizational news rather than independent reporting.
4. Verify TV credits independently. The Hawaii Five-O and Drain the Oceans connections are stated on the site; production credits are the check.

In short, the publication's stated credentials—two community awards, an editor with TV consulting experience, and an active events and exploration record—support treating it as an established niche wreck-diving title, while the specific honors are best confirmed with the organizations that granted them.