McGraw-Hill Construction and AGC Form New Partnership; McGraw-Hill Construction to Publish the AGC CONSTRUCTOR Magazine, Membership Directory and Buyer’s Guide

New York, N.Y., August 19, 2004 - McGraw-Hill Construction, the premier provider of construction information and intelligence in North America, and part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), and the Associated General Contractors of America, the nation's largest construction trade association, today announced a new partnership. McGraw-Hill Construction will publish AGC's CONSTRUCTOR Magazine, Membership Directory and Buyer's Guide.

McGraw-Hill Construction publishes the industry's leading design and construction publications, including the award-winning Engineering News-Record (ENR), Architectural Record, and 12 regional publications, with readership in excess of half a million. McGraw-Hill Construction publishes magazines for industry-leading associations, including The American Institute of Architects and the Design Build Institute of America. Now McGraw-Hill Construction will lend its editorial, design and production expertise to CONSTRUCTOR Magazine and the AGC Membership Directory and Buyer's Guide, which currently have a circulation of more than 40,000. CONSTRUCTOR reaches contractors, suppliers, and service provider members who perform the majority of all highway, building, underground, heavy, and industrial construction nationwide.

"We are excited about our new partnership to publish this fine group of products for AGC members and other industry professionals." said James H. McGraw IV, group publisher for McGraw-Hill Construction. "We are committed to providing high quality information to the industry. Working with AGC, a respected industry leader, helps us achieve that goal." added McGraw.

"We are always looking for ways to better serve our membership and the industry as a whole," said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. "Our choice to select McGraw-Hill Construction as our partner in publishing CONSTRUCTOR, our Membership Directory and Buyer's Guide, is a perfect fit that will enable us to enhance the quality of news and information we provide members and the industry."

As part of the new partnership, AGC and McGraw-Hill Construction have set up an editorial advisory board, composed of AGC officers and McGraw-Hill Construction editorial and business leaders.

About McGraw-Hill Construction
McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. From project and product information to industry news, trends and forecasts, the Company provides industry players the tools, resources and applications that help them save time, money, and energy. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record (ENR) and our Regional Publications, McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4 trillion global construction community. For more information, visit www.construction.com.

About The Associated General Contractors of America
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the voice of the construction industry, is an organization of qualified construction contractors and industry related companies dedicated to skill, integrity and responsibility. The Association provides a full range of services satisfying the needs and concerns of its members, thereby improving the quality of construction and protecting the public interest.

AGC represents more than 33,000 firms, including 7,500 of America's leading general contractors, nearly 12,000 specialty-contracting firms and over 13,000 service providers and suppliers that are associated with AGC through a nationwide network of chapters. For more information, visit www.agc.org.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2003 were $4.8 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

COMPANY CONTACTS:

Media Contact
Kathy Malangone
McGraw-Hill Construction
212.904-4376
kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

Agency Contact
Jerry Cahn
PortfolioPR
212-736-9224
jcahn@portfoliopr.com

SOURCE: The McGraw-Hill Companies