Editorial: Change management

Change is difficult, even for the best of us. That has been the recurring theme in Federal Computer Week’s 20 years. And as much as we may hate to acknowledge it, that is as true here as it is at government agencies. We are changing.

In December, FCW’s parent company, 1105 Media, announced that it was buying the entity formerly known as PostNewsweek Tech Media, including the FOSE trade show, Washington Technology, Defense Systems — and FCW’s longtime rival, Government Computer News.

Two months ago we promised that we were not going to be closing down publications. We argued that, from an editorial standpoint, the purchase of PostNewsweek Tech Media would allow us to cover this community in a more holistic way.

We will now put that theory to the test. And it will necessitate some changes.
Washington Technology will continue to do what it has been doing so well for 20 years — covering the IT business in Washington, D.C. The more noticeable changes will be in the pages of FCW and GCN. We believe that the changes will accentuate what the two publications have been doing well already.
GCN will become a more technology-focused publication. It will be the “technology authority,” as the tag line will state.

Meanwhile, FCW will focus on management and policy issues. FCW will continue to cover technology but in a different way. For example, we will no longer publish product reviews. Instead, we will focus on how government agencies are using technology to implement their missions. We will be  “powering the business of government,” as our new tag line states on the cover.

To be honest, the business landscape dictated many of these changes. There is surprisingly little overlap between the subscriber bases of FCW and GCN. When we parsed the circulation figures, we were astonished to discover that only about 12 percent of FCW’s and GCN’s combined 195,000 subscribers receive both publications.

As an editorial team, our job is to focus on you, our readers. We continue to believe that this merger of companies is an opportunity. We will have more chances to tell important stories in distinct ways that will enable you to do your jobs better.

Change is never easy, but it can also be exhilarating. We look forward to wowing you.