Newsletter 26 July 2023: Bullshit author dies; McGraw ditches bizbooks; felon turns ghost; ex-Twits
|

Newsletter 26 July 2023: Bullshit author dies; McGraw ditches bizbooks; felon turns ghost; ex-Twits

ByJosh Bernoff

Last week I started a LinkedIn newsletter for authors. From now on I’ll be posting it every Wednesday here as well. The format is: short essay, snarky news takes, people to follow, books to read, and an obligatory but lovable plug. This week I cover bullshit, McGraw-Hill’s exit from the business book market, a thief…

The McGraw-Hill Cengage Learning merger — and the perils of dog food marketing

The McGraw-Hill Cengage Learning merger — and the perils of dog food marketing

ByJosh Bernoff

Two competing textbook publishers, McGraw-Hill and Cengage Learning, have proposed to merge. Reducing competition in markets fueled by predatory pricing is a bad idea. But why are textbooks so expensive? When I worked in the textbook publishing industry, the CEO of my startup publisher told me that what we did was “dog food marketing.” When…