Sometimes the editorial cartoon is the only part of the editorial page worth reading.
On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 12:00 PM, Cold Water <[email protected]> wrote: > *SPECIAL REPORT: Will the Editorial Cartoonist Vanish? > > **By Mark Fitzgerald > > Published: June 12, 2009 1:55 PM ET > * > > *CHICAGO To be a newspaper staff editorial cartoonist these days is to > live in dread that the next phone call is coming from the human resources > department. "There's a great sense of dismay and gloom in the editorial > cartooning world," says Steve Greenberg, a member of that fraternity. > Because their numbers were so small to begin with, the departure of > cartoonists amid the mass layoffs in newsrooms around the nation has had a > huge impact on the craft. > > MSNBC cartoonist Daryl Cagle, who hosts the Political Cartoonists Index Web > site, counts more than 30 who took buyouts or were laid off by mid-April, > including such well-known figures as Don Wright at The Palm Beach (Fla.) > Post, Jim Borgman at The Cincinnati Enquirer and Bill Day at The Commercial > Appeal in Memphis, Tenn. More recently, the departures of editorial > cartoonists have been coming at a rate of two or more a month. > > "The number of staff editorial cartoonists who are extremely safe is tiny," > says Greenberg. He speaks from experience: Before he was laid off at the > Ventura County (Calif.) Star last November, he reasoned that he was safe > because cartooning was a secondary job to his main occupation there in news > graphics. > > Winning a Pulitzer Prize isn't even enough in some cases. David Horsey, who > won Pulitzers for cartooning in 1999 and again in 2003, lost his job when > the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased print publication. Though he stayed on > as the newspaper went online-only, he now draws for all Hearst papers, but > not as a local cartoonist. Following the layoff of Eric Devericks at The > Seattle Times last December, there is no major-metro local editorial > cartoonist in Seattle. > > Being syndicated is also no job guarantee. In King Features' stable of > editorial cartoonists, for instance, are Brian Duffy, who was laid off from > The Des Moines Register in December, and John Branch, who was let go at the > San Antonio (Texas) Express-News in March. The two continue to draw, and are > included in the syndicate's weekly "The Best and the Wittiest" package. > "They're still extremely good at what they do, and we still value what they > do," says King Features Comic Editor Brendan Burford. > > Losing their staff positions hasn't affected their marketability, Burford > adds: "I think there's a lot of sympathy for those cartoonists who are laid > off or take the buyouts. It doesn't speak to how good they are, it just > speaks to the economy of newspapers these days." > > Chip Bok, who took a buyout from the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, is > another example of a cartoonist without a newspaper who continues to be > syndicated, in his case by Creators Syndicate. "I'm concerned about them as > a friend, but on the other hand we're hoping there will be opportunities" in > new media in the future, says Creators President and CEO Richard S. > Newcombe. > > This exodus of editorial cartoonists, however, isn't creating any real > selling opportunities to newspapers suddenly without staff artists, > syndicates say. "I wish I could tell you there was something positive out of > this," Newcombe adds. "That certainly seems to be what logic would dictate — > but at the same time, budgets have been cut so much that I haven't seen any > change. It's just such a depressed market these days." > > Another reason there's been no bump for the syndicates is that newspapers > with staff editorial cartoonists often were also substantial buyers of > syndicated cartoons, says King Features' Burford. While the demand for that > material hasn't slackened, neither has it increased, he notes. > > Greenberg, who self-syndicates cartoons themed for Jewish newspapers, > admits he is experiencing the same stalled demand. "I would have thought > there would be more opportunity for freelance work because of the cuts," he > says, "but unfortunately, freelance budgets are being cut too." > > * > * > ------------------------------ > Mark Fitzgerald > ([email protected]<http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/mailto:[email protected]>) > is E&P's editor-at-large. * * * ** * * ** > * * *Find this article at: > ** > http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003983727 > *<http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003983727> > * * > * * > ** > > > > -- *~@):~{> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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