In a time when many print publications are struggling, Government Executive, and its IT focused sister Web site, NextGov, seem to be investing. NextGov has hired Aliya Sternstein as a reporter. I am president of the Sternstein fan club, particularly given that I hired her into the government market when I was at Federal Computer Week. Sternstein left FCW to join National Journal’s now defunct Tech Daily, then moved to Congressional Quarterly. Sternstein is a quiet but incredibly tenacious reporter — she is one of those reporters who gets a story in her teeth and just won’t let it go. And she is a incredibly hard worker — I would often get 11p e-mails from her about various issues. It is a great hire — and it is great to see publications able to invest.

The other big change was announced last month — Atlantic Media, the parent company of Government Executive, has hired Matt Dunie as General Manager of the Government Executive Media Group. I have posted the release below. Dunie officially started at Government Executive on this week.

The move has spurred some questions around the government publishing world, in part because it seems that Government Executive President and Group Publisher Steve Vito reports to Dunie. Vito is widely respected in both government and publishing circles. He has really crafted Government Executive into a significant player in the government trade press, particularly up against the creation of the 1105 Government Information Group, which was formed after FCW’s parent company, 1105 Media, purchased the properties of the former Post Newsweek Tech Media, creating a government IT publishing Goliath. Vito is widely credited with keeping GovExec very agile. Government Executive magazine, for example, gets a healthy amount of IT advertising despite the fact that the magazine hasn’t, historically, covered IT. He then went on to create NextGov, focusing on government IT specifically and led by Allan Holmes, the respected former editor in chief of Federal Computer Week.

Vito is also credited with getting GovExec to change its focus from a print-centric focused group to a media focused group. Government Executive magazine has wisely reduced frequency of its magazine and shifted resources into its online properties, where there is growth.

Vito is also credited with getting GovExec to change its focus from a print-centric focused group to a media focused group. Government Executive magazine has wisely reduced frequency of its magazine and shifted resources into its online properties, where there is growth.

The part of the release that raised some eyebrows:

Government Executive President and Publisher Steven M. Vito will continue in his current position, managing core product lines. He will report to Dunie.

There is some question about what Dunie’s role at GovExec will be.

People in publishing circles had also been speculated that Vito might be a candidate for the 1105 GovInfo group publisher post, most recently held by Evilee Ebb. UPDATE 04.05.2009: I didn’t mention this and I should have: I asked Vito specifically about this and he says it just isn’t true. So this seems more like fun speculation to me.

David Bradley, chairman of Atlantic Media Company, was believed to be shopping Government Executive around last year, but most people believe Bradley has decided to keep theGovExec group. But hiring new people such as Sternstein would be an indication that he has decided to keep the publication — and invest in it.

Dunie doesn’t have experience in the government market — he most recently was the president of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts — and many people take Bradley at his word from theDunie release: “I have been thinking for some time of recruiting an executive to expand our efforts in the business-to-business sector.” Literally, everybody is looking for new and different revenue models right now. (The challenge for publishers is that most of the revenue is based on print, which isstagnant at the very best, but Web advertising simply doesn’t pay the bills. The consensus these days is that publishing is simply between business models — the old, industrial age model is on its way out and the new model hasn’t yet evolved — but everybody is trying to figure it out. And that is as true in the trade press as anywhere else.)

I look forward to meeting Mr. Dunie… and — welcome to the government market.

Here is the release announcing the hiring of Dunie:

Matt Dunie Joins Atlantic Media Company as General Manager of Government Executive Media Group

WASHINGTON, March 9 — David Bradley, chairman of Atlantic Media Company, announced today the appointment of Matt Dunie as General Manager of the company’s Government Executive Media Group. Dunie will join Atlantic Media’s executive team later this month. As General Manager of Government Executive Media Group, Dunie will oversee all aspects of Atlantic Media’s business-to-business product offerings targeting the government market.

Dunie was the President of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) from 2000 to 2007 when the company acquired ProQuest to form ProQuest-CSA. Under Dunie’s leadership, CSA grew its revenues ten-fold through acquisitions and organic growth fueled by new product introductions and innovations. Dunie continued as President of the newly formed ProQuest, a 1,200 person global information services company.

Bradley explained, “I have been thinking for some time of recruiting an executive to expand our efforts in the business-to-business sector. The success our Government Executive team has demonstrated in navigating this challenging economic environment and the changes transforming the media landscape has convinced me that this is the right time for us to be expanding our growth efforts in this area. Throughout my career, I have recruited new colleagues for two salient attributes: force of intellect and a personal spirit of generosity. Matt has demonstrated those attributes throughout his career, and I am pleased to have him joining my executive leadership team.”

“I am very excited to join Atlantic Media in this stage of its growth,” said Dunie. “Government Executive is a terrific brand with exceptional people that has tremendous impact and even greater potential in this very important market. I look forward to leading the effort to expand the group’s reach and influence through the launch of new products and the extension into related markets.”

Dunie arrives at Atlantic Media as Government Executive begins its fifth decade of serving those who manage the agencies and programs of the federal government. From its beginnings as a monthly magazine 40 years ago, Government Executive has grown a rich franchise of print and web publishing, conferences and meetings that both delivers news of central interest to its audience and helps define the good-government agenda from day to day and month to month. The franchise now includes two web sites,GovernmentExecutive.com, serving a wide cross-section of government managers, and Nextgov .com, specializing in service to the federal information technology community. Government Executive Media Group also organizes the annual Excellence in Government Conference, a series of Leadership Breakfasts at the National Press Club, and other live and online events. Its Government Business Council offers a host of custom marketing solutions for companies looking to reach the government market.

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Government Executive President and Publisher Steven M. Vito will continue in his current position, managing core product lines. He will report toDunie , who said, “I am looking forward to working with Steve and his team, and expect to benefit greatly from Steve’s deep knowledge of the markets Government Executive now serves.”

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