In the fall of 2002, e.Republic CEO Dennis McKenna met with
key members of his staff to discuss a new project: a publication that would
serve the public-sector CIO community. Unlike other magazines published by e.Republic
and competitors that covered the government and IT markets, this one would be a
thought leadership journal.
The goal was to have professional journalists as well as academics
and industry analysts contribute well researched, thought-provoking articles,
providing readers with a rich selection of information and knowledge for IT
executives who have to manage some of the most complex computer systems and
networks under some of the most trying circumstances. At the same time, this
journal would have the highest standards in magazine editing, design and
production.
The result:
Public CIO,
a publication that marked the start of something different: a hybrid publication -- part journal, part magazine --
but also the beginning of a new era in service journalism. The first issue came out in the
spring of 2003 with a photograph of Mark Forman, CIO for the federal government,
on the cover. It was an immediate hit. We had little trouble attracting
well respected contributors who raised the quality of the editorial content
and enough advertisers to make the magazine pay for itself from the start.
Two years ago,
Public
CIO went bimonthly and the thought leaders we featured on the cover of the
magazine grew, ranging from former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, New Orleans CIO Greg
Meffert, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, OMB Deputy Director Clay Johnson, editor
and technology critic Nicholas Carr to New York City CIO Paul Cosgrave, who is profiled
in our cover story for the latest issue.
I'm giving you this bit of publishing history because of a
new milestone for
Public CIO. Last
week in
New York City,
we were given the highest honor that can be bestowed on a business
publication. The American Society of Business Publication Editors named
Public CIO as the 2007 Magazine of the
Year for publications with a circulation under 80,000 (ours is 25,000).
ASBPE is widely recognized as having one of the most
prestigious and rigorous editorial award programs in the publication business.
We faced some excellent competition and while the award is an amazing
achievement, especially for a magazine of our size, it brings attention to the
small but highly talented staff that makes
Public
CIO possible.
I'll start with Dennis McKenna, whose vision and foresight
launched the magazine and carries on today as he continues to encourage and challenge
the staff to find new and better ways to serve our readers. Listed on the masthead
with the modest title of associate editor is
Steve Towns
who, as many of you already know, is editor of
Government
Technology and executive editor of the entire editorial department. Steve
is also our trusted editorial adviser to the magazine as well as my long-time
colleague and friend.
Since its inception,
Jessica Jones
has been
Public CIO's managing editor
and more, tracking all articles through the editorial process, acting as
liaison between editorial and design and being an all-around jack of all trades
in writing and
editing copy. Last year, Jessica was named assistant editor, so
she could devote more of her time and skills to integrating editorial with
design. It's a complex job, but one that Jessica does extremely well.
Karen Stewartson
has taken over as managing editor and is quiet but tenacious in managing the
many articles as they wind their way through the various stages of editing,
making sure we stick to our deadlines. Making sure our copy is clean and
accurate is
Miriam Jones, a long-time
editor at e.Republic. She is also in charge of handling the conversion of our
print editions when they move on to the Web so the stories are accessible
online.
Our highly talented design team is led by
Kelly Martinelli, creative director. Her illustrators and designers include Tom
McKeith, Michelle Hamm and
Crystal Hopson.
Their ability to create original art and illustrations that help convey arcane
subjects, such as SOA, ERP, CRM and ITIL, is amazing. ASBPE thought so too.
They awarded the design team with a separate achievement award for the
excellence of their work in designing and illustrating
Public CIO.
Other people who provide invaluable editorial support
include veteran editor
Shane Peterson
and writers Jim McKay,
Andy Opsahl
and Chad Vander Veen. While their full-time job is writing and editing for
Government Technology, they also lend
their time to making
Public CIO a great publication.
Paul Taylor, the
Center for Digital Government's chief strategy officer, has been contributing a
regular column to the magazine from the first issue, giving readers his
delightful mix of insight and wit in his well received commentaries.
In addition, we have
been fortunate to have working for us several fabulous freelance journalists
who contribute their talents to
Public CIO on a regular basis: David Raths,
Merrill Douglas and Chandler Harris.
The achievements of this hardworking team of writers,
editors and designers have gone unmentioned for too long. Without their
dedication and hard work,
Public CIO
would not have achieved this level of excellence. Most satisfying is the fact
they have been recognized by their peers: the American Society of Business
Publication Editors.
A job well done. Congratulations to all.