• by Tony Silber , Staff Writer, January 4, 2022

GovExec, the media company that covers a slew of verticals in the government sector, announced Monday it has acquired News Service of Florida, which covers policy and politics in that state.

The deal builds on the multiple strategic acquisitions the Washington, D.C.-based company has made over the last year, all intended to strengthen its ability to produce actionable business intelligence and support tools for government leaders and contractors.

Since March 2020, when the private-equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners acquired a controlling stake in Government Executive Media Group (since rebranded as GovExec), the company has made 10 acquisitions. Nearly all are research and data-related businesses. Most of the acquisitions have come since December 2020.

Prior to News Service of Florida, the company’s most recent acquisition came on September 14, with the purchase of the research and insights company Market Connections. GovExec announced at the time that it will combine Market Connections and other related assets into a new Research Center of Excellence.

Terms of this recent transaction were not disclosed.

News Service of Florida will continue to provide coverage of Florida State House issues for its subscribers — state and local government leaders, local media outlets and lobbyists, and corporations and associations, Growth Catalyst Partners said in a press statement.

The acquisition will become a part of GovExec’s City & Stateplatform, which includes The Atlas for Cities, Route Fifty, City & State New York, and City & State Pennsylvania.

“We continue to build a powerful network of assets in state and local government, ” said GovExec CEO Tim Hartman. “Now having the City & State brand in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida, we see an incredible opportunity for future expansion, delivering even more trusted news and connections between government leaders and those who support them.”

Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida’s executive editor, added: “We are incredibly excited about becoming part of GovExec. The News Service has worked hard to become Florida's most-trusted source of news about state government, politics and legal issues. The move to GovExec will provide a great opportunity to expand on that success. ”

This year, the company plans to expand the News Service of Florida subscription to include member-only events across the state; comprehensive legislative directories of Florida’s executive, judicial, House, Senate and Congressional branches of government; and election resources, such as polling data, and an exclusive database of candidates running for state and federal office in Florida.

In addition, the company will also start producing and publishing its First Read daily newsletter, Power Lists and events, the other core components of City & State’s business model.

What to Watch

First, the 53-year-old GovExec is transitioning from being a media company with data and research capabilities to a data-first organization that uses media as fuel for its data engine. On a macro level, this is one of the most significant shifts in B2B media over the last 10 years.

Second, integrating new businesses into an existing company is challenging under any circumstances. Doing 10 integrations in the space of a year is exceptionally challenging. It's even more so because of the nature of the businesses. Bringing research businesses into a legacy-media company involves not just technology, HR, revenue-generation and overall process, it is coping with different business models and cultures.