McGraw-Hill feels school budget pinch: Time for a consumer e-book standard?
“Education is a little bit disappointing. The school market, in particular, is being affected. States are reviewing their finances, how they are going to pay for educational costs.” - Edward Atorino, an analyst with Blaylock & Partners L.P., on McGraw-Hill’s latest earnings report.
The TeleRead take: While McGraw-Hill as a whole posted higher earnings than during the first-quarter in ‘02, revenue from education fell 1.6 percent. And that decline could worsen if the present recession drags on and schools and libraries must cut further. We’ve seen what happened in Texas. If McGraw-Hill and other publishers want to keep the money flowing in from the public coffers, they need to offer more value, and a consumer-level e-book standard could help. McGraw-Hill, of course, is a member of the Open eBook Forum. Suggestion for Bob Bolick, director, product development, McGraw-Hill: Time to use your OeBF seat to get the group to return to the original vision from Microsoft? The present situation, “Beta vs. VHS times ten,” will cost your company millions in lost markets.
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