Search

The author discusses the evolution of the publication of political cartoons in the U.S. Topics explored include the 2007 annual gathering of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC), the storytelling strategies of cartoonists such as Jules Feiffer, Matt Groening, and Tom Tomorrow, and the transition of political cartoonists to social media platforms to augment their income. more...

The article looks at the long tradition of skewering at "Texas Observer" using both printed words and editorial cartooning. Topics include a decline in the membership of the American Editorial Cartoonists since the 1980s, comments from Texas Observer cartoonist Ben Sargent about the losing political cartoonists, an archive of the work of Observer cartoonists found at the Briscoe Center for American History, and a description of the situation of cartooning in other parts of the world. more...

The article discusses the U.S. National Wildlife Federation (NWF) as a formidable force for wildlife conservation since its formation in 1938. A brief overview of an editorial cartoon by U.S. cartoonist Jay N. Darling, in which several conservationists surround members of the U.S. Congress and demand action, is presented. Topics include how Darling's activism resulted in the first North American Wildlife Conference in Washington, D.C., which led to the creation of the NWF. more...

The article presents the biography of editorial cartoonist Jack Higgins. He was born on August 19, 1954 in Chicago and have attended Jesuit schools from his primary to college education. He received in 1984 the Peter Lisagor Award, which he won 9 times. His cartoons are illustrative of events within the political spectrum arousing anger from different sectors. In 1989, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoon with former U.S. vice-president Dan Quayle as the subject. more...

Profiles the editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich in Atlanta, Georgia. Success of Luckovich as a cartoonist; Educational background; Types of cartoons created by Luckovich.

This article discusses the decline of editorial cartooning in the U.S. The terrorism attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the rules of engagement for U.S. editorial cartoonists. Amid the chaos, most U.S. citizens believed it was inappropriate, even unpatriotic, to criticize U.S. President George W Bush. Soon after the terrorist attacks, however, a few cartoonists returned to social satire, believing that giving our leaders a free pass during times of crisis undermines our democracy. Still, most editorial cartoonists condemned U.S. enemies but refrained from questioning the Bush administration. Editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes scolded those in her profession for being pro-government. As social critics, cartoonists should keep a vigilant eye on the democracy and those threatening it. Scott Stantis, then the president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, said that cartoonists found themselves under scrutiny after September 11th. But nothing is more patriotic than social criticism. The First Amendment does not exist so people can praise the public officials: it exists so people can criticize them. Newspapers who give their cartoonists the freedom to express their views, as free as possible from editorial restraint, reinforce the message that an exchange of opinions not only strengthens but also maintains the democracy. The sad state of editorial cartooning is a result of the economics of the newspaper industry and of editors who have little appreciation for political satire. As the newspaper industry has declined in both readership and influence so has journalistic decision-making by editors, many of whom opt for publishing generic syndicated cartoons over provocative, staff-drawn cartoons. They do this because the cartoons are cheaper, and they generate fewer complaints from readers. Too many editors want editorial cartoons to be objective. But that is not what editorial cartoons are supposed to do. more...

This article discusses the significance of the editorial cartoons in the U.S. Cartoonists have been declining--down from almost 200 in the 1980s to fewer than 90 in 2004. The poisonous fumes laying us low are the byproduct of the corporate culture that has engulfed newspapering during the past two decades. It is a bottom-line cult of efficiency that threatens not just the profession but the integrity of journalism and hence the unruly spirit of democracy. That is old news, and all heard reasons for the disappearance of the editorial cartoon. Circulation is down and budgets are tight. Newsprint costs soar. Editors forced to cut budgets look around and find the expendable employee, or the person least like them: the guy or gal who just draws pictures. Newspapers have survived challenges for 200 years, from the rise of the telegraph to radio and television and now 24/7 cable news programming. That is because the newspaper's indispensable function has been to shape its community's very identity through the distinctive voices and personalities on its pages. Cartoons are the most accessible window into the character of the paper and its town. Yet more and more publishers are convincing themselves that they do not need a local pen or brush representing them on the editorial page. Instead of having an artist who will continue to shape and reflect the soul of their community, they get by cherry-picking canned cartoons from syndicates. more...

The article addresses the difficulty faced by editorial illustrators. It is hard to defend imagery that confronted religion or politics or race. A number of top illustrators claimed that all the heavy thinkers, big ideas and anything requiring the slightest abstraction of thought are gone. Opinion art was reduced to display. Illustration has supposedly been killed off three times over the years, by photography, by television and by the computer. Illustrators survive on ten-year-old pay rates. They also know that time to fight back is running out, which is why in 1999 they convened the first Illustration Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the conference, the invective caricaturist Steve Brodner compares the period when it was difficult to criticize U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the press. If one artist could be said to embody the taste of today's editorial illustration industry, it is Robert Grossman. He is a tongue-in-cheek cartoonist and a smart one. Take, for example, his post September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks drawing of reconstructed twin towers, two pillars that form the legs of a giant robotic male who towers about the city, flipping the world the bird with both hands. The drawing appeared in the "Rolling Stone" magazine. more...

The article features political cartoonist Rollin Kirby. His figure drawing is described as unimpeachable and his cartoons reportedly give instantaneous exposition of an idea. Kirby writes and draws newspaper editorials. As of 1940, he is working on the "New York Post." According to him, the paucity of symbols through which a cartoonist must express himself is one of the handicaps which confront the cartoonist. more...

The article discusses the influence of political cartoons in newspapers. It offers comments from several individuals about the implications of editorial cartooning including journalism professor Chris Lamb, publisher John M. Wylie, and editor and publisher Michael Sprengelmeyer. Also tackled is the difficulty in finding editorial cartoonist, along with the pay that is usually received by cartoonists. more...

The article focuses on political cartoons created by women in the U.S. Ann Telnaes, Signe Wilkinson and Etta Hulmes are the women who have won the honor for editorial cartooning. About six percent of the membership of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists are women. According to "Slowpoke" creator Jen Sorensen, drawing comics and cartoons has been gendered male within the culture. Editorial cartoons about reproductive rights and justice depict women standing by as observers. more...

This article explains the relationship of editorial page editors with cartoonists. Working with a talented cartoonist is much more complicated than giving a simple yes or no answer to his daily offering. Schools teach copyediting and writing, but none instruct would-be editors on editing cartoons. It is not just fixing syntax and correcting spelling in taglines and balloons. In cartoons, the editor deals with ideas expressed starkly, brutally through an art form for the masses. The opinion is expressed in caricatures, relies on satire, and indulges in exaggeration. A cartoonist's world is black and white, while an editor's universe is imbued with shades of gray. The best cartoonists are an independent-minded breed. Rebellious is a better description. They are far more likely to question and even denounce their bosses for censoring their masterpieces. An editor does not really edit a cartoon, he or she works with its creator in shaping images and messages. What this means is that if an editor is the type of person who abhors volcanic eruptions from a cartoonist over the editing of his or her work, do not hire one. Instead, rely on syndicated cartoonists over whom editors have far more effective control through the process of choosing one from many purchased inexpensively. But syndicated cartoonists do not give newspapers the local flavor that they must have in fully engaging audiences. They never connect directly with their readers as a good local cartoonist does. more...

This article comments on the demise of the editorial cartoonist. This new interest in the fate of cartoonists is a bit unusual, not because they have not lamented the lack of jobs, but because people other than cartoonists now seem to be noticing the thinning ranks and wondering why it is happening and what it means. From the vantage point of cartoonists, the issue is not that people do not like editorial cartoons; it is just that they do not want to pay for them when they do not have to. Brilliant and pithy cartoons seem so simple and easy to produce that people approach cartoonists all the time with their ideas for a cartoon or two. In some ways, this dynamic is not unlike humankind's quest for flight. Every day, editorial cartoonists troll the news in search of social and political ironies, then create images that encapsulate those metaphorical words and pour them into a single picture. In fairness, editorial cartoonists can be quite disruptive to an editorial page editor's work. An editor with the intestinal fortitude to oversee a staff cartoonist will inevitably have to deal with angry readers, many of whom can be time-consuming. This is especially problematic in today's marketplace where newspapers are sometimes referred to as the product and readers are affectionately called customers. Into this corporate environment arrives the editorial cartoonist. Cartoonists are regarded as anathema to the culture that exists to provide a service. No matter how hard marketing specialists try, newspapers will never be only products. When newspapers report the news and provide a decent editorial page, they will--by their mission and definition--engender controversy and consequently, be purchased and read by people in their community. INSET: Cartoonists Reach Out to Educators. more...

Profiles editorial cartoonist Joe Pollack. Career history; Change of political views; Relocation from one city to another; Educational attainment; Interest in art; Role of the editorial cartoonist; Process of making cartoons. more...

Presents information on several rejected political cartoons created by editorial cartoonists in the U.S. Mount Rushmore-themed cartoon by Steve Breen; Coffin images by Mike Luckovich; Exxon Valdez oil spill by Bruce Plante. more...

The article profiles Miami News Cartoonist, Don Wright, who has been regarded as one of the nation's most widely published editorial cartoonist. Wright has been a strong critique to President Richard M. Nixon, particularly on Nixon's involvement to the Watergate Scandal through his editorial pages. Wright began his career at Miami News after he graduated from high school in 1952, in which he worked as a photographer and picture editor. He was then convinced to draw on full time. According to Wright as he was new about cartoon editorials in 1963, he studied and mimicked the styles of editorial cartoonist Bill Mauldin, and Herbert Block, who were known to be the best. Moreover, he was awarded with a Pulitzer Prize for his cartoon work that depicted two survivors of a nuclear holocaust. more...

An interview with Rob Rogers, an editorial cartoonist at "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" and author of "No Cartoon Left Behind!," is presented. He recalls that his professors at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania did not know that he wanted to become a cartoonist. When asked how he became a professional cartoonist, he says that "The Pittsburgh Press" gave him his biggest career break. He explains that in drawing an editorial cartoon, he usually starts with the text. more...

An interview with Steve Kelly, the editorial cartoonist for the "New Orleans Times-Picayune." Kelly says that he started doing political cartoons in college. When asked about what makes a good editorial cartoon, he mentions humor. He says that he likes the work of political cartoonists Mike Peters, Mike Lubovich and Steve Green. more...

This article presents the author's views on the opportunity provided the cartoons to relate with the local community. Given the market-driving dynamics, editors of newspapers do not have much motivation to keep an editorial cartoonist on staff. Yet the argument can--and should--be made that it is the newspaper's best interest--editorially and commercially--to provide its readers with a connection to local issues, not only with reporting but also with the cartoons it carries. No syndicated cartoonist has the ability to tap into local issues or a community's mindset. If the role of a cartoonist is viewed as being like that of a columnist--someone whose work truly engages readers--then local cartoons are essential. As a staff cartoonist with The Birmingham (Alabama) News, my cartoons provide another opportunity to carry on a conversation with the people who live here. And if I do not cartoon about the foibles and squabbles over local and state issues, who will? The late Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the editorial pages of The Birmingham News, Ron Casey, used to half joke, Cartoonists are expensive, and they are a lot of trouble. Thank goodness Ron and the rest of the management of this newspaper believe the expense is worth the trouble. Each morning I read the newspaper to see if there is a local story that warrants a cartoon. more...

Focuses on editorial cartoons. Distinction of editorial cartoons from comics or funnies; Award for writers and editorial cartoonists; Quiz on the cartoons of Clay Bennett that focus on the 2004 U.S. presidential elections. more...

The many readers of the newspaper “Saint Louis Post-Dispatch” who admire the work of editorial cartoonist John Sherffius have seen no report in the paper that he, in 2004, won the Robert K. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartoons he did at the newspaper. He quit the paper in disgust in December 2003 after being pressured for more than a year to go easier on Republicans. The pressure came from Terry Egger, the publisher, and Ellen Soeteber, the editor, to lessen complaints and nourish the paper's bottom line. The last straw was when Sherffius was told to add a Democratic donkey to a cartoon that ridiculed pork barrel spending done mostly by Republicans in the U.S. Congress. more...

The article presents an interview with Angelo Lopez, editorial cartoonist for the Philippines Today newspaper. He discusses how he won national Sigma Delta Chi Awards in 2013, 2015 and 2016 and how does his cartoons change in message, tone it style if he was publishing. He mentions that he would love to work as full time editorial cartoonists for print publications. He also mentions his support for the baseball team Cincinnati Reds. more...

Features Bay Rigby, son of editorial cartoonist Paul Rigby who followed in his dad's footsteps by doing cartoons and illustrations for the "Boston Herald" newspaper in 1985. Background information on Bay and Paul Rigby; Views of Bay Rigby on his job and his dad's editorial cartoons; Predilections. more...

The article presents the Halifax Chronicle-Herald editorial cartoon from cartoonist Bruce MacKinnon, which focuses on issues from the year 2015. Topics discussed include the aim of MacKinnon to deliver a poignant and maudlin cartoon, the simplistic fundamentalist idea of the cartoon and other cartoon finalists which address issues on political campaign. more...

The article focuses on cartoonist Matt Bors. Bors' collaboration with war correspondent David Axe on an online journalism article on the civil war in Syria is discussed as an example of Bors' participation in comics journalism, in which reporting is done in comic strip form rather than the traditional format of editorial cartoons. more...

The author reflects on the issues regarding editorial cartoonists. He says that there is a current crisis in the circulation of daily newspapers because of the Internet's existence. Accordingly, he states that professional political cartoonists could become extinct. He also mentions the details on the 2006 Danish cartoon controversy. more...

The article discusses editorial cartoons. Editorial cartoons express an opinion about a news event or a social issue. The cartoonist often use exaggerated illustrations and situations to make their points. An editorial cartoon is presented in the article. Questions regarding the cartoon is also given such as what does the boy in the cartoon represent. more...

The article addresses the decline of the editorial art in increasingly homogenized media. As if to illustrate one reason for this, Tunku Varadarajan of "The Wall Street Journal" wrote a column about his encounter with Steve Brodner, an artist who had the courage to reserve the right to decline to illustrate words with which he disagreed. Brodner presented his visual take on the episode and on the underlying issue regarding the connection between an artist's work and his mind. more...

The article features Private Breger who has been acclaimed as the outstanding cartoonist of the periodical "The Saturday Evening Post." Breger was selected by the servicemen's weekly newspaper "Yank" to send him around the world to cover combat points and draw on-the-spot cartoons. He began his cartoon series for the Post under the guidance of humor editor Douglas Borgstedt. more...

The article features Tom Toles, editorial cartoonist at "The Washington Post" newspaper. The newspaper's editorials have supported the Iraq war while Toles has been allowed to do cartoons opposing the U.S. invasion and occupation. He believes that readers would have noticed if he was forced to go along with his paper's stand on Iraq. He is not pleased with the way editorial cartooning jobs are decreasing for he believes that cartoons are among the most popular elements of newspapers. more...

The article focuses on editorial cartoon copying in the U.S. J.P. Trostle, news editor of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists' AAEC Notebook publication and EditorialCartoonists.com site, thinks that cartoon copying might not have increased because although the Internet makes copying easier, it also makes it easier to catch the offenders. Several cartoonists said there are other reasons for cartoons' similarities, such as selective publishing of newspapers. more...

The article highlights the increased workload of several editorial cartoonists in the U.S. following the emergence of blogs and political animations. Walt Handelsman is satisfied in his job of doing animated cartooning for "Newsday." It is claimed that newspaper animations can attract younger readers. more...

The article features "Houston Chronicle" editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson and the addition of blogging and animation to his work. Anderson won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning at "The Courier-Journal" of Louisville, Kentucky. His blog includes finished cartoons, preliminary sketches and comments from readers. He hopes to create one animated cartoon a month in addition to the five print cartoons he does per week. more...