Diminishing Book Coverage
Just as we welcomed USA Today‘s annual fall books forecast, with Bob Minzesheimer’s roundup of bookseller predictions of which ones will be hits, we learned that, after 17 years on the newspaper’s book beat, Minzesheimer is one of the victims of a new round of layoffs. This follows on the heels of the loss last year of Deirdre Donahue and Carol Memmot to early retirement packages.
At that time, USA Today made the following statement to Publishers Weekly;
“While we’re sorry to lose Deirdre and Carol, USA Today‘s commitment to books coverage remains unwavering. Later this year we’ll celebrate the 20th anniversary of our famous book list with a host of new coverage, both print and online. Books editor Jocelyn McClurg and reviewer Bob Minzesheimer remain committed to books coverage and, with senior editors, will be actively recruiting new book reviews both inside the staff and outside.”
Bob tweeted the following yesterday:
On day my kids begin high school, I’m among 25 staffers laid off at USA Today. I’ll keep reading & writing. New email:bookbobminz@yahoo.com
Follow him on Twitter: @bookbobminz
As a form of protest, click as many times as you can on Bob’s Booksellers pick potential hits for fall