The headline for a much-shared [*Wired* story](https://www.wired.com/story/universities-step-up-the-fight-for-open-access-research/) on the University of California's [read-and-publish deal](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-reaches-groundbreaking-open-access-deal-leading-global-publisher) with Springer Nature:
> Universities Step Up the Fight for Open-Access Research
"Today's deal," reads the [subhed](https://www.wired.com/story/universities-step-up-the-fight-for-open-access-research/), "is a big milestone on the path to dismantling paywalls around academic journals."
Here's [*Inside Higher Ed*](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/17/university-california-system-strikes-landmark-open-access-deal-springer-nature)'s headline:
> A Landmark Open-Access Agreement
The [*Times Higher Education*](https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/university-california-open-access-deal-springer-nature):
> Landmark US agreement is hailed as 'significant milestone' in shift to open access publishing in North America.
And [*Publisher's Weekly*](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/83601-university-of-california-springer-nature-announce-groundbreaking-open-access-deal.html):
> University of California, Springer Nature Sign Groundbreaking Open Access Deal
The headline hyperbole is, on the one hand, weird: The UC deal, though large, is mostly conventional, of a piece with the deals made by European consortia since 2014.
The headlines, indeed, seem to be lazy press-release mimicry. The UC [release](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-reaches-groundbreaking-open-access-deal-leading-global-publisher):
> UC reaches groundbreaking open access deal with leading global publisher
And [Springer's own](https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/media/press-releases/springer-nature-university-of-california/18083344):
> Landmark Transformative Agreement reached between Springer Nature and University of California
There's nothing groundbreaking about the deal, even for the U.S. The bigger issue is that the coverage is a gift-wrapped present for Springer Nature and the other publishing conglomerates. Read-and-publish deals are about preserving the current subscription gravy train—and they're succeeding in crowning the thirty-seven percenters as [the OA royalty](https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2018/06/26/will-europe-lead-open-access/). Deals like this, moreover, promise to [worsen global publishing inequalities](https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/02/21/read-and-publish-open-access-deals-are-heightening-global-inequalities-in-access-to-publication/).
A better headline: "UC Capitulates to Commercial Read-and-Publish Deal."