Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science? | Science | The Guardian

The long read: It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell

illustration for science publishing long read Illustration: Dom McKenzie It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell By Stephen Buranyi Tue 27 Jun 2017 01.00 EDT Last modified on Mon 25 Aug 2025 09.55 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google I n 2011, Claudio Aspesi, a senior investment analyst at Bernstein Research in London, made a bet that the dominant firm in one of the most lucrative industries in the world was headed for a crash. Reed-Elsevier , a multinational publishing giant with an

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