James Bach, who covered federal government contracting for the Washington Business Journal, has left the news organization to become an analyst for Bloomberg.
Bach writes, “It didn’t take long for me to grasp the magnitude of the government contracting industry. One of my first lessons was that it’s not really an ‘industry’ — it’s effectively every industry you can imagine and the government is the customer. It’s as much about dining services and HVAC maintenance, as it is supersonic fighter jets.
“That’s why on my final day in this role — I will be moving onto Bloomberg, still covering the industry but as an analyst, not a journalist — I’d like make a plea to whomever fills my spot and to the small community of journalists covering this market: It’s extremely fascinating, exciting and consequential. Cover it as such.
“In my opinion, mainstream press outlets and even much of the trade media don’t give the business of government its fair share of coverage. Official government numbers reveal that agencies obligated $473.2 billion in contracts in the last fiscal year. And that number doesn’t include subcontracts or classified spending.”
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