Washington, DC (March 15, 2023) —  GovExec, the market-leading sales and marketing intelligence company for government leaders and contractors, today announced that GovExec 360 journalists are finalists in multiple categories for two of the industry’s most esteemed awards programs – the SIIA Neal Awards and the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ Azbee Awards. 

The Neal Award Finalists are Natalie Alms, Staff Writer for FCW, and Daniel Vock, Senior Reporter for Route Fifty. The Azbee Award finalists are the Defense One and Nextgov teams for online and breaking news coverage.  

“We are extremely proud of our journalists and the work they’ve put into these projects,” said GoveExec 360 Editor-in-Chief, Heather Kuldell. “These awards not only demonstrate the high-quality stories and reporting of our editorial teams across our publications, but also showcase the passion of our writers.”

About the SIIA Neal Award finalist entries: 

• Natalie Alms’ “Identity (Management) in America” article series for Best Series. After the news broke that the IRS was using a facial recognition system to confirm the identities of some tax filers using a new program, Alms wondered why the federal government's home-grown digital ID tool Login.gov wasn't up to the task of securing taxpayer accounts. Her reporting shed light on how the federal government doesn’t have an easy way to verify the identities of the people trying to use its services, potentially blocking some from services they qualify for and leaving the door open to fraud. Alms enlightened the FCW audience who make decisions about what identity tools to build and use about their promise, pitfalls, and alternatives. Read the rest of the series:

  • Login.gov plans to scale up without facial recognition tech – for now

  • IRS leader explains why the IRS went to ID.me 

  • Postal Service should 'act swiftly' to scale up identity services, IG says

  • Labor Department, USPS team up on ID proofing

• Daniel Vock’s “With $1B at Stake, Clashes Emerge Over Highway Removal” story for Best DEI Coverage. Vock examined the tensions of the Reconnecting Communities initiative, a Biden administration infrastructure program aimed at repairing the damage done to neighborhoods like Tusla, Oklahoma. State and local proposals for the grant program range from ambitious highway removals, to reducing the harm of existing highways and, in a few cases, making highway expansions more palatable to neighbors. What the administration funds could reshape Black neighborhoods across the country.

About the Azbee Award finalist entries:

• Defense One’s “Russia Invades Ukraine” reporting in the online breaking news category discusses how when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, few expected a long conflict. The Defense One team focused on serving its audience of national security leaders and service members with breaking news that also provided expert insights and context. While many outlets reported on Ukraine’s request for fighter jets, Defense One sought to answer how valuable that equipment would be if received. As Russia cracked down on social media, Defense One dove into both the new rules and older, historical ways the regime aimed to control information. At this point in the conflict, the Defense One team has written more than one hundred articles on the invasion. Below is just some of the work the Defense One team has done:

  • Kremlin Cracks Down Harder on Media, Facebook as Protests Sweep Russia

  • What Just Happened With Putin’s Nuclear Forces? Here’s What Experts Say

  • Can Ukraine Really Use Donated Fighter Jets? That Depends

  • Concern Rising That Putin Could Use Nuclear Weapons

• Nextgov’s “The Government’s Tech Challenges” reporting in the government coverage category regularly covered the technology that serves as the backbone of the federal government’s operations. That technology often costs millions or billions and yet still can grind to a standstill, leaving people unserved. For example, Nextgov reported that a multibillion-dollar electronic health records system used by the Defense and Veterans Affairs department had a nearly three-hour outage at 178 facilities caused by a bug in a database. The publication also broke the news that the General Services Administration’s tech consultancy is operating at a $30 million deficit—a significant amount for a group that aims to sustain itself through fees from helping other agencies modernize their IT. The team also covered the Defense Department’s years-long and controversial struggle to buy commercial cloud services and gain an edge over adversaries like China. Some of Nextgov’s expert coverage can be found below:

  • VA, DOD Electronic Health Record System Suffers Nationwide Outage

  • GSA’s Tech Shops Face $30M Deficit After Priority Change Last Year

  • Pentagon: $9B Cloud Contract Gives Us ‘Leg Up’ on China, Adversaries

The Neal Awards recognize and reward editorial excellence in business media. Neal winners are the best of the best in the business journalism industry and challenge audiences to think critically about their businesses and inspire them to grow and innovate. The Azbee Awards recognize outstanding work by magazines and digital media — websites, e-newsletters, digital magazines, social media, and blogs.

To see the full gallery of Neal Award Finalists, please visit: https://siia.net/neals/2023-neals-finalists/. Azbee Award gallery entries for Defense One and Nextgov are also available.

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