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March 31, 2005
CONGRATULATIONS TO STACEY AND
BRIAN FAIRRINGTON!
My loyal assistant on this site
is Stacey Fairrington, the wife of our conservative cartoonist
Brian
Fairrington. Stacey had a baby this morning, a nine pound
little boy named Blake Spencer Fairrington. Congratulations to
Stacey! You can e-mail your congratulations to Stacey and Brian
by clicking here!
If things look a little clunky around here the next few days,
just have a little patience as Cagle, the overworked cartoonist,
is trying to do everything by himself.
NO HUMOR IN THE SLOVAKIAN CHURCH
Our cartoonist from Slovakia, Martin Sutovek, writes to tell
me that he's in trouble. Martin and his newspaper are being sued
by the Slovakian Conference of Bishops who object to the cartoon
below. Oh dear, those bishops don't have much of a sense of humor.
 Martin Sutovek,
SME, Slovakia
E-Mail
Martin. Visit an archive of the Martin's most recent cartoons
in the drop menu at the right. |
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OLD
"BEST" FRONT PAGE
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March 28, 2005
NEW PAGE LAYOUT
Over the weekend I changed the layout of our Best
Political Cartoons of the Day pages. These are the pages
where our regular readers go to see the latest cartoons by the
artists who contribute to our site. Today I've been hearing from
readers whose everyday routine has been interrupted by the change
in layout. The e-mail has been running about two to one, with
twice as many readers annoyed by the change as there are people
who like the new layout better.
We used to run twelve pages with
seven or eight cartoons per page, about 88 cartoons in total.
The new layout has 30 pages, with three or four cartoons per
page, showcasing more of our regular cartoonists --a little more
than one hundred cartoonists will be featured on these pages
from here on out.
I've learned that readers with
fast internet connections prefer long pages. One problem with
long pages is that readers with slow connections complain that
our bandwidth-heavy site takes too long to load; our site can
be very frustrating on a telephone connection. The second problem
is that longer pages reduce the number of page views on our site,
which cuts our advertising revenue.
We've been told to increase ad
income from our site, which means we have to deliver more pages
and more ads. I'm sorry, but advertising is what keeps the site
free to our readers. I don't have much choice here. Our site
accounts for about a third of Slate's audience, but more than
half of Slate's bandwidth demands. For you techies out there,
we run on five state of the art servers with fiber-optic connections.
Our site has ten thousand pages and more than two hundred thousand
cartoons, from over two hundred cartoonists it is a big
monster to feed.
Another consideration is that
more cartoonists wanted, and deserved to be showcased on the
more popular, daily pages. We've recently been adding some new
cartoonists to the site, and two examples are below. Mr. Fish
is an edgy, alternative weekly cartoon by Dwayne Booth. I became
a fan of Mr. Fish in the LA Weekly. We'll be adding a Mr. Fish
collection on the front page later today. Another new arrival
is Richard Crowson of the Witchita Eagle; Richard describes himself
as a lonely liberal cartoonist in a sea of red states.
|
NEW
"BEST" FRONT PAGE |
 Dwayne Booth,
Mr. Fish
E-Mail
Dwayne. Visit Mr. Fish.
Visit an archive of the Dwayne's most recent cartoons in the
drop menu at the right. |
|
 Richard Crowson,
The Witchita Eagle, Kansas
E-Mail
Richard. Visit an archive of the Richard's most recent cartoons
in the drop menu at the right. |
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March 23, 2005
SO MUCH SCHIAVO
My favorite Terri Schiavo cartoon
came from Mike Lane, who recently left a thirty year job at the
Baltimore Sun. Mike e-mailed me, asking if it would be OK to
draw an elephant peeing. In his thirty years at the Sun, he was
never allowed to draw an elephant peeing. Would we really dare
to send a drawing of an elephant peeing, to newspapers around
the country? Would newspapers really print that?
I said, "Sure, what the
heck?" Mike's cartoon shows a Republican elephant peeing
on the "Rule of Law." I think it is the best cartoon
of all.
Visit
our vast collection of cartoons about the Schiavo case.
March 18, 2004
CAGLE"S NEXT BOOK SIGNING
I know, you missed my last book signing, and you're still kicking
yourself. Not to worrk, here's your next opportunity to meet
the elusive Cagle!
Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Valencia
23630 Valencia Blvd.
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
(661)254-6604
Book signing: Saturday, April 23, 2005
12p.m. to 3p.m.
March 16, 2005
This afternoon, around 2:30, I was sitting at my computer, with
my finger poised above the "enter" key, ready to send
out my "Baretta is GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY" cartoon. CNN
was blaring, and as soon as they uttered the word, "GUILTY"
I would press the button and have the first "Guilty Blake"
editorial cartoon delivered to newspapers across the country!
Well, I never was a good judge
of character, and the cartoon went to waste. How could he be
NOT GUILTY? Jeez. I guess the cartoon is a collector's
item now.
March 8, 2005
WHO'S IN THE CAR?
From our mailbag:
From: "Michael Müller"
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 5:39 AM
Subject: Todays Cartoon by you at cagle.com
Sorry, but why would there be FOUR suicide bombers in ONE car??
That makes no sense at all, and I think you knew that but ignored
it in order to make your point. Which I frankly find a little
bit shabby if true :-/
with fg, Michael Müller
Dear Michael,
If you look closely, you will see that, in one of the cars, the
three passengers are mannequins, which the bomber obviously put
in place to make the car look like it has four passengers. The
other car actually has four passengers, unfortunately, that is
the car you chose to shoot. I can't believe that you would make
such a mistake.
Best of fg, Daryl
PULITZER FINALISTS
Every year the top secret finalists
for the Pulitzer Prizes are leaked. See
the list of leaked finalists in most of the categories on the
Editor & Publisher site. In the editorial cartoons division,
the finalists are reported to be: Don Wright of the Palm Beach
Post, Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald Leader and Garry Trudeau,
the creator of Doonesbury and our neighbor on Slate.
These are three great cartoonists,
but I find the selections disappointing because all three have
already won a Pulitzer Prize. There are lots of deserving cartoonists
who have been overlooked by the journalism elites at Columbia
University. I would guess that the favorite to take home a second
Pulitzer would be Garry Trudeau, because he has gotten so much
attention this year for the Doonesbury story in which B.D. loses
his leg in Iraq.
Pulitzer juries select three
finalists, but the winner is selected by a second, broader committee
of journalists, which is not bound to select a winner from the
finalists although they almost always do.
 March
5, 2005
HERBLOCK WOULD BE HORRIFIED
There is no institution that
cartoonists despise more than The New York Times. The editorial
cartooning profession is slowly dying as more and more newspapers
decide that they can do without the expense and controversy of
a local political cartoonist. The New York Times is the biggest
newspaper to go without a staff editorial cartoonist. They don't
even run comic strips.
The Times has not employed a
political cartoonist for nearly fifty years and editors at the
Times have been quoted saying that they would never hire a cartoonist
because "you can't edit a cartoonist like you can a writer,"
and, "we would never give so much power to one man."
The arrogance with which the haughty Times dismisses our art
form really sticks in the collective cartoonists' craw. So, imagine
my surprise when I read that The New York Times was winning the
"Herbert Block Freedom Award," a prize bearing the
name of a great political cartoonist.
Herbert Block, better known as "Herblock," is a beloved
figure among cartoonists; he worked as the cartoonist for The
Washington Post for most of the past century, winning three Pulitzer
Prizes and contributing to the downfall of President Nixon and
Senator Joe McCarthy.
During his lifetime, Herblock
quietly amassed a fortune in Washington Post stock. When he died,
Herblock left money to his favorite organizations, among them
the National Cartoonists Society, which is using a $50,000 Herblock
bequest to fund a scholarship in his name. Herblock's estate
established the Herblock
Foundation which, among other things, supports the art of
editorial cartooning and bestows a yearly Herblock Award to a
top cartoonist. Herblock left money to the Association of American
Editorial Cartoonists, which recently received a $150,000 grant
from the Herblock Foundation to fund efforts to facilitate use
of editorial cartoons in the classroom and promote our art form
on the web.
 Herblock
also left $50,000 to his union, The Newspaper Guild/Communications
Workers of America, which used the legacy to start an award called
the "Herbert Block Freedom Award," that they decided
to bestow upon the evil nemesis of cartoonists, the New York
Times. The award comes with a $5,000 prize, a drop that will
be thrown into the Times' vast, private, corporate money bucket.
Cartoonists love irony, but some
irony is too much to stomach.
How could this happen? The answer
is that The Newspaper Guild never thought about how giving the
Times an award, named after a beloved editorial cartoonist, would
look to Herblock's cartoonist colleagues.
Guild President Linda Foley writes,
"We did not consider the Times' history or relationship
(or lack thereof) with editorial cartooning. It's not a controversy
or history with which we are familiar."
The award will be presented to
the Times at a banquet on March 30th to honor the Times' efforts
in defending the confidentiality of their sources. In particular
the award is intended to honor the Times' star reporter, Judith
Miller, who is fighting court efforts to root out a confidential
source who disclosed the identity of CIA agent, Valerie Plame.
Read more about the case in the Guild's
press release, and on Slate here
and here. Plame's husband,
former Ambassador Joe Wilson, accuses the White House of exposing
his secret agent wife in retaliation for Wilson's outspoken criticism
of the Bush administration.
 The
folks at Slate totter between liking and disliking Judith Miller,
but I'm no Judith Miller fan. Miller is probably best known for
a series of articles
in the Times that encouraged the run up to war with Iraq,
in which she gave credibility to false claims that Iraq was amassing
huge, menacing, stocks of weapons of mass destruction. Miller
is a superstar reporter; now she's fighting to stay out of jail
and defend a slimy source who outed a CIA agent. Protecting confidential
sources is noble, I guess. So The New York Times gets an award
... but why call it the Herblock Award?
Guild President Foley writes,
"We knew that Herb had generously willed money to many organizations,
several of them related to cartooning. We PURPOSEFULLY set up
this award around the "other" aspects of Herb's work."
She continues, "In addition to being an ardent cartoonist,
Herb Block also was an ardent trade unionist. That's why Herb
left us the $50,000. (He left you folks [cartoonists organizations]
more.) Trade unions, like cartoonists, are also on the verge
of extinction. Newspaper companies like Cox, Tribune, Gannett,
etc., do their darndest to eliminate the Guild. Do you folks
ever give consideration to that legacy of Herb Block when you
give your awards for cartooning? I doubt it; nor would I expect
it (even though I might wish it). And we would never, ever presume
that you or any other group (such as the Herblock Foundation)
was somehow "dishonoring" Herb Block because it gave
an award to a cartoonist or publication that was anti-union.
Again, we wouldn't like it, but it wouldn't be our award to bestow."
 OK.
I get it. They can do what they want to do in Herblock's name.
But the irony of this award creates a great opportunity to make
the point about how terrible The New York Times has been for
cartoonists.
Should The New York Times run
cartoons and comic strips? Should they receive an award named
to honor Herblock? You can sound off to the Newspaper Guild,
the New York Times and our very own blog with an e-mail by clicking
here. We'd like to hear what you think -and if we get
enough e-mails, maybe it will make an impact on the evil, cartoon
loathing, New York Times. We'll post the best e-mails here.
Here are selections from our
mailbag, after my piece on the Herbert Block Award (above) ran
in our newsletter this morning. Our readers sent copies to us,
the New York Times and the Newspaper Guild.
From: Lorraine Provost
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 12:42 PM
Subject: Herblock award
I read your article and e-mail responses to it with great interest
and concern. The New York Times should not get this award. Their
pomposity and disrespect for creative license and intelligent
opinion in the field of politics and news events makes them ineligible
for such a highly regarded and coveted recognition award. The
political cartoon profession must be protected and recognized
for the incomparable role it plays in society. A cartoon cuts
through inches of paper and thousands of words that profess to
express opinions. A good cartoon is the least common denominator
for truth in reporting events. The ability to clearly and succinctly
grasp the essence of an issue or event is the hardest thing to
do. The fact that the New York Times doesn't have any cartoons
speaks to their crass ignorance in what society wants and needs
in a newspaper. Giving them the Herblock award would be like
giving the Congressional Medal of Honor to Sadam Hussein. It
makes no sense and its unfair. My friend Sandy Huffaker is a
political cartoonist and I don't know anyone who is as intelligent,
objective, knowledgeable, clever and funny. I deeply respect
his uncanny ability to instantly assess the core truth in opposite
sides of complicated issues and praise his profession for delivering
these truths to all of us every day. Give me my cartoons! And
give the Herblock award to a newspaper that supports the profession!
The snobbish elite who declare themselves too busy or too
intelligent to look at political cartoons can keep the New York
Times.
Lorraine R. Provost
Manasquan, NJ
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Weiand
Subject: Catoonists
I love political cartoons and
hope that you manage to get the NYT to sign on at least a few
cartoonists from several different wings maybe getting them to
all draw a cartoon on the same theme on the same issue so that
you get an equal perspective if you see what i mean. I hope that
the NYT soon sees that cartoonists are very important!
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: HJ Ariola [mailto:harrisonjbear@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 9:12 PM
To: cari@cagle.com; guild@cwa-union.org; letters@nytimes.com
Subject: unions and cartoonist
Let's all vote with what these
corporations all love... the almighty dollar... i'm keeping my
vote...maybe they'll get the message....
From: Pam Wellington
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:14 AM
Subject: rip it away
Come on people! An award to the
New York Times with the name of a famous cartoonist who supported
editorial cartoonists? The New York Times is too cowardly to
even run a political cartoon or have one on it's staff. Give
us all a break. Rip that award away from the New York Times and
give it to some struggling paper that still has the guts and
integrity to run political cartoons in it's paper.
Pam Wellington
Visual Arts Educator, teacher of cartooning to high school students.
From: Coley Orr
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:11 AM
Subject: Herblock award for NYT
Just wrong.
From: James W
Fitzgerald
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 6:56 AM
Subject: The Herb Block Award
This is discgusting. Does Foley mean that she did not know or
consider the history or the impact of giving an honor in the
name of a famous person who would have given quite the opposite
to such a pandering rag as this? For her not to have been aware
of the Times relationship with cartoonists, and employees in
general, shows that she doesn't read or watch or comprehend the
news or its effects.
Jim Fitzgerald
 From: Terry
C. Wise
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 6:25 AM
Subject: Herb Block rolling over
Dear NYT editors,
Your political views aside, Herb Block is surely rolling in his
grave at the thought of an anti-cartoonist, judgment hoarding,
self anointed diva of opinion winning an award that carries his
name.
Do the right thing... graciously pass on the Herb Block Freedom
Award.
Sincerely,
Terry C. Wise
From: Jill Kennedy
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 3:42 AM
Subject: Herblock Award
I grew up reading the newspaper.
We fought over the funnies on Sunday. And, guess what, we still
do! I learned about politics and humor from editorial cartoons,
and still do.
I do not trust people who do
not read the funnies or editorial cartoons. There is something
lopsided in their thinking. They are insulated from one whole
aspect of the news. Most seem to lack a sense of humor, an essential
quality for any well-informed person.
Shame on the New York Times.
I read it, but loathe the fact that they have no cartoons. Maybe
I should stop reading it.
Jill K. Kennedy
From: Chad Crowe
Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 9:00 PM
Subject: Herbert Block Award
It is amazing the New York Times
has been awarded the Herbert Block Freedom Award, and serves
as another reminder how undervalued the institution of editorial
cartooning is among our nation's mainstream media elite. It is
a travesty to the profession that a newspaper with no respect
for the profession of editorial cartooning has been awarded a
prize after one of the greatest American cartoonists of all time.
The New York Times is in the forefront of large, established
newspapers (such as The Chicago Tribune and The San Jose Mercury
News) that have decided cartoonists are expendable "extras"
in journalism. By bestowing this award upon The New York Times,
the forum does a great injustice to the historical importance
and legacy of editorial cartooning in American Journalism, and
thus to Herblock himself. From Thomas Nast challenging the injustices
of Tammany Hall, or Bill Mauldin bringing a human face to World
War Two, not to mention Herblock's legendary career fighting
injustice or nuclear proliferation, the combination of art and
words has been a powerful force on editorial pages for over a
century. Now, the current media trend is to lay off cartoonists,
keep local controversy to a minimum, and keep as much profits
for the shareholders as possible. The New York Times has demonstrated
itself to be as weak-kneed as other newspapers in choosing not
to endorse this unique editorial art form, and surely does not
deserve a prize in the name of Herblock. Maybe they should be
awarded the Jayson Blair Prize, as they had no qualms in putting
themselves out on a limb for him.
Chad Crowe
From: Clifford
Milner
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 6:19 AM
Subject: NY Times and Herblock
What was shocking was this. Guild President Linda Foley writes,
"We did not consider the Times' history or relationship
(or lack thereof) with editorial cartooning. It's not a controversy
or history with which we are familiar."
I'd recommend that she read a
newspaper once in awhile!!
Clifford Milner
From: Ellen Hunter
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 6:22 AM
Subject: New York Times / cartoons / Ellen Hunter
I regularly buy newspapers from outside my area - newspapers
that include those from Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles.
I will admit that I avoid buying the New York Times solely because
it does not have cartoons, editorial and otherwise. While it
sounds mind-bogglingly stupid and shallow, the truth of the matter
is that I enjoy reading cartoons - especially editorial cartoons
- often more than I enjoy reading the articles. There is no form
of writing on this earth that can so clearly detail one person's
opinion on a matter so concisely as a cartoon. Even when - often
especially when - I disagree with a cartoonist's opinion, I enjoy
the degree of detail regarding that opinion that can be garnered
from the cartoon.
There is also the simple logistical
reality of being a mother. I get the opportunity to have the
TIME to read a newspaper while my child reads the 'funnies'.
I grew up reading Doonesbury, and my understanding of recent
history has always been bolstered by his strips, even when I
disagree with the opinions being expressed. I now welcome the
opportunity to discuss current events with my daughter (she is
seven) when she reads various political cartoons and asks me
what I think, much as my parents discussed current events with
me.
This is an opportunity the New
York Times would deny me, evidently entirely out of fear of offending
someone with a picture. How simplistically idiotic of them.
-Ellen Hunter
This email
comes form editorial cartoonist, Sandy Huffaker. Click
here to see Sandy's work.
Daryl,
Having worked at The
Times for some years, I found they liked and understood what
a cartoon was...granted it was only "cartoon illustration"
on political subjects and not full-fledged editorial cartooning,
but irreverence was appreciated and chuckled at. Yet they seriously
nit-picked everyone, which can really kill a cartoon's individuality.
You can always tell an over-edited cartoon, because it bores
you to death.
Editors always seem
jealous of cartoonists--we usually get an 80% readership, compared
to 10% for the editorials. We do have big power-- not because
we are so fabulous, but because the folks may get a laugh and
we require less work. Also, we'll tell you who the bad guys are
without any ifs, ands, buts, or on the other hands.
Go git 'em,
Sandy Huffaker
From: Fred Pergament
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:28 AM
Subject: RE: CagleCartoon: Cartoonists Despise the New York Times!
Don't fault The New York Times (NYTimes) for not employing political
cartoonists. They're only 99% politically biased; they just didn't
want to be mistaken for appearing a full 100%.
More disgusting than the NYTimes receiving this contrived award
is that the Newspaper Guild/Communication Workers of America
(CWA) wanted to specifically honor the NYTimes.
CWA Union's misuse of the bestowed "Herblock" inheritance,
smacks of their becoming yet another political neophyte cult,
seeking to exploit foundations established in Herbert's name.
What's next on the "slippery slope" for the CWA? Will
they conspire to award Dan Rather for his prowess in undercover
journalism or the Teacher's Union for scholastic excellence?
If anything, Herbert Block is not rolling in his grave, he's
(hopefully) trying to climb out of it if only to wring the necks
of the CWA, that are so thoughtlessly trashing his legacy.
I am Fred Pergament and I approve of this message.
From: Hiram Perez
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:06 AM
Subject: NYT award.
I completely agree with the Cagle
article on my "Daily Cartoon" It is a lack of being
informed and a total hypocrisy to award and receive that award
(in) Herblock's (name).
In my 67 years I have grown up
with, and enjoyed cartoons tremendously, specially editorial
cartoons. I bought papers, when I knew what was going on in the
world, and locally, just for the cartoons. To me it is a sublime
art.
H. Perez
Columbia MD
From: william
coulthard
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:42 AM
Subject: Award
Don't be too hard on the Times for receiving the 'Herblock' award.
After all, the Times probably doesn't have the funds to hire
a cartoonist, because of it's need to use their spare profits
to keep some of their story fabricating, leaking national security
information, and all-around boring reporters out of the 'slammer'.
Plus, it should be a real boon to the "only true free press
in America", which, in my mind, are the Cartoonists.
My hat's off to you all
From: Joe Jacobs
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: Herblock Award Going to the NY Times
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
Only a major newspaper with no
sense of history and the importance of cartooning in general
but more specifically editorial cartooning would cease to have
one on staff. You could take a single example of the cartoonists
- Herb Block himself - and look at his work over the span of
his career and you would see the editorial cartoonist sees and
expresses things differently than does the average journalist
or even editor. Providing this kind of alternative view of the
news is valuable to your readers.
A picture tells a thousand words,
eh?
So now we award a newspaper WITHOUT
an editorial cartoonist an award in Herb Block's name. You folks
at the Guild are very lucky Herb is not still living and working.
Were he to turn his pen on you and your efforts here, you might
not like it very much. He wouldn't paint a pretty picture.
By giving the NY Times the award
you did, it is my opinion that you greatly dishonored Herb Block
and the legacy his work provides to this day. In this case, the
Guild is a disgrace to the newspaper industry. If you choose
to honor the Times for respecting its sources, you should have
at least checked out a different source of funding. In the newspaper
business, we call it research. You'll find it to be a valuable
tool the next time you give out the Herblock Awards.
Joe Jacobs
Advertising Director
Montana Newspaper Association
Helena, MT
From: Robert A.
Housden, Ellington, MO
Subject: New York Times
You may add my name to the list of those who wish the NY Times
would publish at least one editorial cartoon. The first thing
I look for on the Editorial Page of my local newspaper, The St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, are the editorial cartoons (and the Post
Dispatch prints many). I also read the Times and the Washington
Post on a daily basis and read the latter first mainly because
the former has no political cartoons.
I feel the lack of a cartoonist staff is a failure in policy
for the Times and denies its readership a valuable and entertaining
tool in news reporting.
I, too, believe the Newspaper Guild exercised poor judgment in
awarding the Herbert Block Freedom Award to a newspaper that
is opposed to everything Herblock believed in and worked for
all his life. This is indeed ironic.
The editorial cartoon is political comment in a nutshell and
can stand alone or add greatly to arguments presented in a accompanying
written editorial.
I particularly enjoy the Cagle cartoons and am disappointed if
they are unavailable.
Robert A. Housden
Ellington, MO
From: harry herchek
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 6:35 AM
Subject: NY Times
Are you kidding me? The New York Times recieving an award for
political cartoons when they don't run any at all? I have read
the NY times before and it is not even good. And why give it
to some 'lady' who is protectecting her source? She can't even
get her facts straight. Obviously a George Bush lover, not a
real objective reporter.
Thanks for this moment.
From: Bob Pinzler
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 9:23 AM
Subject: Herbert Block Award
Why is Judith Miller one of the
few reporters I would LIKE to see go to jail?
There, she can think about the
souls of the 1500 American dead she has part responsibility for
killing.
Bob Pinzler
From: Virginia
Wright MS, Lincoln, NE
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:18 AM
Subject: Herb Block Award
Dear Editor: The explanation for using the Herb Block Foundation,
money, and name is specious on many levels: the NYT is not a
part of the legacy of Mr. Block, and in fact, vehemently opposes
& avoids his professional art form; and has supported the
"winning" reporter even though she failed to demonstrate
journalistic integrity for sourcing, fact checking. What is even
more appalling to me is the explanation given for this award
by the selection group. They failed entirely to know their field
and values when making the selection, and using the same non-speak,
misdirecting, deceptive language of the Bush Administration to
justify what was done. A clear demonstration of what's wrong
with the media today.
From: Michael
V
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:25 AM
Subject: All the news...
The New York Times wants to appeal to an "effite corps of
snobs" among our society. I don't imagine "effite snobs"
appreciate cartoons or comics, do they?
Michael Vaccari, Newark, NJ
From: Francisco.C.Lopez@gsk.com
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:55 AM
Subject: Cartoons
Thanks for bringing this up with the NY TImes. I did not realize
it, but now I know how they run their paper. Every Sunday, the
first thing I read is the Comics section. This gives me an instant
relief and gladness inside. I realize the amusement and childness
in me when I read the comics. This is the side of me that says
"Life ain't that serious, take a break, have a laugh and
be kind to your heart".
From: Charlie
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 8:36 AM
Subject: The award!
Isn't this the same "newspaper" that lost credibility
with a story later proven to be false. yet they wanted to be
first rather than correct. I have no respect for "scoop
mentality" or papers that adhere to it. Its editors are
worried about editing a cartoon that is obviously the opinion
of the artist, rather than the truthfulness of its "news"
and reporters. I did read it but don't anymore for the reason
above.
From: Bertram
H. Lowi
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:01 AM
Subject: The Herblock Award
To: Daryl Cagle
I agree with you that neither the Times nor Judith Miller
deserve an award in the name of the courageous anti-bullshitter
Herblock but, "evil"?, that's going a little too far.
I'm frankly delighted to see this dust-up because journalism
-- stifled by it's own sloth, self-importance, inbreeding, coziness
with the establishment, gutlessness, and seduction to the bottom
line-- desperately needs a thorough airing. No wonder the "Page
6 Estate" (what I call the bogus blaring Fourth Estate)
is flourishing at the expense of the enlightened public discourse
so necessary to a functioning democratic society. If the bottom
line becomes the standard for journalism, then we can expect
bottom feeders.
Bertram H. Lowi
From: Virginia
Smith
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 7:02 AM
Subject: Cartooning the Times
You do see a kind of unofficial "best cartoons of the week"
in the Sunday Week in Review, and they're one of the best things
about the paper any more. But Slate proves there are so many
good young cartoonists out there, I kind of like the idea of
the Times giving us readers a selection of the best cartoons
from all over the globe rather than having an in-house staff.
Not everybody can hit Herblock magnitude consistently, and an
open forum keeps the door open to new talent. They should just
give us more.
Like run a full page of the best cartoons at least once a week
and run at least one cartoon in each section one day during the
week: Business, NY/local, Sports, Science, Arts, Styles oh yes.
They could make it fair like they do with their op-ed columnists,
dueling cartoonists for Right and Left and may the best cartoon
win. Cartoons are so satisfying, visually, intellectually, and
morally, restoring justice through humor and puncturing pomposity
with a higher standard of thought where it hurts -- well, the
Times must be blind to miss the sheer reader appeal of cartoons.
News articles, columns and editorials may catch the reader's
eye or not, but what lively black and white drawing amid a sea
of gray print ever goes unread?
I fear P.C. has dimmed the Gray Lady's eyesight. As a reader,
I lament that more than anyone. ~ Virginia Smith
From: Jim Constantin
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 9:20 AM
Subject: Ban the NY Times!
I enjoy cartoons, editorial or
not. I only buy newspaper for the the cartoons; if I have time
I page through the paper and read an article or two that is of interest to me, but only if
I have time. My number priority is reading the "educational
pages" as I call them.
I was driving a tractor-trailer,
and would purchase a local paper where I was to page through.
One morning the only paper available was a NY Times, I gasp at
the price! Then I was got disgusted that their were to cartoons.
I felt ripped off! And vowed never to buy one again. I will pay
$0.50 for a daily, and even 2 bucks for a Sunday, JUST FOR THE
CARTOON!
Newspapers claim "freedom
of the press", well not allowing cartoons in a newspaper,
is infringing not only "freedom of the press", but
a cartoonist right to expression. Because a cartoon is a pictorial
EXPRESSION of a belief
or opinion. And pictures say a 1000 words.
Thank you,
Jim Constantin
From: richard alvarez
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 9:34 AM
Subject: editorial cartoons
The New York Times should have editorial cartoons how else will
the American people know the truth.....surely not through the
made to order fabricated news.....come on New York Times let
the truth come through without censorship.....freedom of the
press or did you forget....Richard Alvarez
From: Amy Sunnergren
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 9:45 AM
Subject: NY Times
I am not surprised by the actions
of the NY Times. I do agree that the Guild may make their award
where they feel is appropriate. However as to the NY Times, I
only hold that newpaper in disgust. I am not suprised by their
attitude that they could not control a political cartoonist and
thus they felt the need to squelch that freedom of speech, which
was given to them in our Constitution. the NY Times has a policy
of utilizing every benefit that they can earn, but fails to recognize
that benefit should flow from them to the public.
I note that the newspapers are
to be sent through the mail for free...thus when I was receiviing
the NY Times via the mail I would expect to receive it
in a timely basis (which for the
Wall Street Journal is the same day as it is printed) however
I would receive my copies 2, 3 or even 4 days late. This led
me to believe that they were not mailing out a "fresh"
edition, but instead were picking up the old newspapers from
the vendors and mailing those out to the mail deliveries. So
while I was paying full price I was receiving a drastically discounted
product.
Since I dropped my subscription
the false news reports came to light. This type of chicanery
did not suprised me as I already knew that the NY Times has no
moral backbone whatsoever. I believe that any "freedom"
award earned by the NY Times is not earned due to an honest,
truthful effort for investigative reporting, but instead due
to "is this particular article moneyworthy". I understand
that there is a bottom line that must be considered, as in every
business, but the NY Times has that as the most important issue.
I appreciate all sources of news, TV, newspapers, internet and
magazines. Each has its value - TV is for pictures and quick
sound bites, internet for immediacy, magazines for indepth treatment,
but newpapers give me the best bang. It can bring the facts and
the detail missing from both TV & Internet and get it to
me timely and at a fantastic cost. It can cover more of my world
than anyone else, local, national and international. It not only
tells me of the business down my block, but the business in China.
I rely upon newspapers and the editors to find the news that
will affect me and my world---"all the news that's fit to
print"
Amy Sunnergren
From: SARAN MISKIMINS
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 9:58 AM
Subject: Herb Block
We all dislike criticism, politicians more than most. But
no one forced them to ascend to the halls of power. A cartoon conveys
an idea in just one image. Talk about succinct journalism.
The fault lies not with the cartoonist, who's been enlightening
and entertaining us for hundreds of years, but with a country
of folks too sensitive to entertain ideas other
than their own.
I can just picture Herb shaking his head.
Ms. Saran S. Miskimins
Depoe Bay, Oregon
From: roberta richardson
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 10:08 AM
Subject: Herblock Award
Now that NYTimes is getting an
award from a cartoonist, it is only fair that it run editorial
cartoons, may I recommend "Doonesbury", "The Boondocks"
and, why not, "Dilbert"...
Thank you,
Bobbie Richardson
From: ELBrenner
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 12:06 PM
Subject: Herblock
Growing up in Washington, DC in an activist family reading The
Washington Post each day - through the McCarthy shameful era
- I am horrified to know that an award in Herb's name is being
given to the NYTimes - for any reason - since Herblock, the best
of the best, - could not get reprinted in the Times. Sad and
ironic. Shameful would be the best description.
E L Brenner
Beverly Hills, California
From: Maryhelen Posey
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 11:34 AM
Subject: NYTimes
They wouldn't give that much power to a cartoonist - but they
gave it to Judith Miller at a critical time for the nation!
Maryhelen Posey
From: Mait McNamara
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 11:33 AM
Subject: A Concerned Connecticut Yankee
No, nothing to do with the New York Yankees or George Steinbrenner
either....just an unhappy Irish lad of nearly 4 score. Let them
go ahead and give the Herblock Award to the Times.. many awards
are given to the undeserved as we are all too familiar with.
George Bush will be next to receive the Nobel Peace Award and
if he has one ounce of peace in his blood no blood test known
to me would be able to idendify it. Use this episode as a plus
and urge your fellow cartoonists to join together in picturing
this wrong for what it is. I am sure that CAGLE has a thought
or two that would cause The New York Times some due anxiety.
Mait McNamara
Old Lyme, Ct.
From: Alayne Livingston
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 4:25 PM
Subject: no cartoons in the NY Times
After reading your editorial in Slate, I am finally glad that
I've never managed time to read much of The New York Times
and have never, ever paid for it.
Political cartoons have saved my sanity since my consciousness
got raised more than two decades ago -- especially during presidential
election season. Political & other editorial cartoonists,
please keep up the important work that you do!
Alayne at <mailto:alaynek@hotmail.com>alaynek@hotmail.com
From:
CloneJack
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 3:42 PM
Subject: editorial cartoons
Dear Sirs:
In thiese times of all too many
journalists toeing editorial lines that resemble all too much
the political advertising that the Republican party and Bush
administration wish us (your readers) to buy into without challnging
or questioning, the editorial page's cartoonists have often been
the only exception which I could read with any pleasure. It is
on the editorial page, in the cartoonists' work, that I have
generally read challenges to the agenda of the current administration,
works which questioned the justification of the invasion of Iraq
(and which noted the acquiescence at long last of the administration,
the final admission that there were _no_ WMDs in Iraq!), the
behavior of the Rove team in Bush's campaigning, the ethics of
Tom DeLay (and of the Republican majority in changing House ethics
policy)--_not_ in the actual news reports.
The only responsibly questioning
journalism I am reading in newspapers is from the editorial cartoonists.
The absence of them (or of any comic strips) in all too many
newspapers is most disturbing and disheartening to me.
"When the good lord created
humankind, he left a low ceiling for intelligence and no floor
for stupidity." R. Southard "Violence is the last resort
of the incompetent (I. Asimov)--and the first of the morally
bankrupt. (J. Ostrander)
Francis X. Wiget II
From:
Wiley Miller
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 3:04 PM
Subject: A clueless slap in the face
The awarding of the Herblock
award to the NY Times is akin to the NAACP giving an humanitarian
award to the KKK. Of course, I can understand why the Times has
refused to hire an editorial cartoonist or carry comics in general.
If they did, accuracy, truth and ethics might creep into their
pages, taking away valuable space from parroting corporate interests.
Wiley Miller
Non Sequitur
From: Johnson, Karla
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2005 2:31 PM
Subject: Herblock Award to NYT?
To the editors of the New York Times:
Several months ago, I recall that your newspaper bought advertising
time from some of our Los Angeles TV stations to attempt to sell
subscriptions here in California. You are aware, I presume, of
why your costly effort went over like a lead balloon. You can
buy all the commercial airtime you want, but Westerners want
political cartoons, comics, graphic arts. Do you think it's because
we're stupid? Quite to the contrary. We recognize the political
cartoon as a vehicle for shaping public opinion and stimulating
thought about political subjects. (If you're not convinced that
we're not as stupid as you give us credit for, please recall
that *we* aren't the ones shoveling snow in the winter.)
Why are you so afraid of political cartoons and comics? Because
you can't control the content? The Los Angeles Times, to which
most of us out here *do* subscribe, can't control the content,
either, but this newspaper has *increased* its cartoon content
since shortly before last year's presidential election. Why?
Because it sells both newspapers and advertising space. Cartoonists
can put whatever words they choose in their caricatured subjects'
mouths. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's offensive, sometimes
it's asinine, and sometimes, we just don't "get it",
but the point is, the cartoonist is free to express his or her
opinion through art, and we the readers are free to agree or
disagree with that opinion. Benjamin Franklin -- remember him?
-- was perhaps America's first political cartoonist (the "Don't
Tread on Me" snake hacked into 13 pieces, symbolizing the
perils of disunion in the 13 original colonies). I suppose if
the NYT had its way, he would have been the last one, too.
Political cartoons are a capital investment in freedom of the
press, a middle finger flipped in the face of censorship, especially
by the government. Then again, maybe I'm the one who missed the
point. Maybe you folks at the NYT *do* prefer the role of censor,
or maybe you appreciate government censorship so you don't have
to do it. Just what is it that you fear so deeply from a few
black lines on white paper? Why are you not afraid of the written
word but so terrified of hand-drawn political art? Is it perhaps
because illiterates can understand drawings even if they can't
read the words? Well, who am I to criticize? You probably know
your own readership better than anyone else.
Sincerely,
Karla Johnson
Karla Johnson * Database Administrator
FIS Chatsworth Imaging Data Center
Chatsworth, CA 91311
March 2, 2005
CAN THE INTERNET REJUVENATE EDITORIAL CARTOONING?
Here is an excellent article by Mark Glaser about the state
of our profession on the internet. Mark writes for the USC Annenberg
Online Journalism Review. You can also see his article on the
OJR site here.
E-mail Mark at: glaze@sprintmail.com
Dale Neseman is the local editorial
cartoonist for the Hamburg (NY) Sun. He's also the local editorial
cartoonist for the Voice News in New Baltimore, Michigan. And
at the Jupiter (Fla.) Courier, as well as about 20 other small
newspapers around the country. How does he stay local without
being local?
Neseman had a brainstorm in 1997
to start drawing cartoons based on local issues just by reading
newspaper stories online and e-mailing submissions. To his surprise,
small newspapers jumped at the chance to get local-issue cartoons
from a freelancer living elsewhere rather than to pay a full-time
staffer.
The Internet has changed the
way editorial cartoonists distribute their work and compete with
others, while also allowing them to broaden their ideas into
brief animations. Though the initial dot-com boom for animations
(remember Mondo Media and Shockwave?) waned long ago, the current
rebound in online advertising and political satire (think "The
Daily Show" and JibJab)
might bring another wave of interest to the old art form of political
cartoons.
.jpg) Neseman, for his part, has succeeded
even as a low-tech guy, with a dial-up connection and without
a Web site to showcase his work. He has won awards in states
outside of his hometown of Hamburg, New York, and gets paid about
$25 to $40 per cartoon.
"Fortunately, in a lot of
cases, different small towns -- and even larger towns -- have
a lot of the same issues, maybe school taxes or plowing roads,
or general taxes," Neseman told me. "So a lot of these
places have a lot of the same problems. So I can tweak a cartoon
that I've done in the past, and I don't have to reinvent the
wheel with each cartoon."
Neseman's editor at the Voice
News, Donna Remer, doesn't mind a whit that he doesn't live
in southeast Michigan. She said that one cartoon that dealt with
water problems in New Haven, Michigan, led to a citizens' group
using it on T-shirts they wore to village council meetings.
"I'm sure they didn't realize
he lives out of state," Remer said via e-mail. "The
Internet and e-mail are changing the way all journalists work,
and cartoonists are no exception. The trick is to use the efficiencies
these technologies offer without compromising our very basic
commitment to local content, relevant to our readers."
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
Despite Neseman's modest success,
he still works part-time as a graphic designer. These are the
worst of times and the best of times for editorial cartoonists.
Newspapers have been cutting full-time editorial cartoonist jobs
down to the bone, and prices paid in syndication seem to drop
by the minute. But the Web has brought new business opportunities
for popular cartoonists, with global distribution and the chance
for self-syndication.
Veteran cartoonist Daryl Cagle
has been in the eye of the storm for online cartoons. His Cagle.com
Pro Cartoonists Index was once lavishly funded by Slate and MSN,
even allowing him to pay cartoonists for featuring their work
online. That hub has allowed cartoonists to see each other's
work, exposing repeated or clichéd ideas to fellow colleagues.
After drastic cuts at Slate a
few years ago, Cagle was on the verge of shuttering the site
before Slate and the participating cartoonists agreed to a more
austere budget. Slate continues to prize its collection of editorial
cartoons, with Cagle's index and Doonesbury.com.
The site, now owned by the Washington Post Co., would even consider
adding more cartoons or political animations in the future, according
to its new publisher, Cliff Sloan.
And Cagle has built a thriving
syndication service of his own called Cagle
Cartoons, where he hawks custom cartoons and sells subscription
packages to some 800 newspapers from his stable of cartoonists.
He has four employees for the syndication business, but he doesn't
think major syndicates take political cartoonists that seriously
as a business.
"In the eyes of the major
syndicates, editorial cartoons are like the retarded stepchilds
of the comic strips," Cagle said. "The big syndicates
are interested in selling comic strips because you can get the
plush Garfield and Opus and Snoopy, which you don't get with
political cartoons. There isn't a lot of money in political cartoons,
and it isn't something that big syndicates are interested in,
but they still like to offer a broad range of services."
And while the Net offers a way
for cartoonists to sell merchandise such as books through online
stores directly to readers, it's tough to break into the business
and establish new talent with so much competition for attention
online and a low barrier to entry.
"It's a tough market for
political cartoonists to try to make a living," Cagle said.
"I get unsolicited submissions from a gazillion cartoonists
and it's sad. 'Where can I get a job as a political cartoonist?'
I don't know. It's a big lake, and the lake is receding, and
the fish are flopping on the shore. ... What I tell college kids
and aspiring cartoonists is that there are 85 cartoonists with
full-time jobs, and it's a much better plan for your career to
count on getting into the NBA or NFL."
Chris Pizey is CEO of UClick,
the online arm of Andrews McMeel Universal, the largest independent
newspaper syndicator. Pizey has seen the boom and bust cycle
for comics online, including the more political Doonesbury.com
and the fuzzy Garfield.com. When ad money dried up, Slate picked
up Doonesbury online, and Pizey helped launch a subscription
service called MyComics.com and even a wireless service, GoComics.com.
Pizey told me that business has
improved on newspaper sites after the bust.
"We saw a lot of attrition
on the non-newspaper sites [during the bust], but on the newspaper
sites, it's stayed pretty consistent, and it's starting to grow
nicely again over the past year as the ad market has picked up,"
he said. "They're looking at how to engage new users, and
comics and puzzles are a great way to do that. They've been working
in newspapers for 100 years, and they work just as well on news
sites."
UClick has even tried an online
incubator site for newbies called ComicsSherpa, where they charge
aspiring cartoonists for space on the site. Pizey says UClick
is now offering four or five of the best ones in syndication
online, while United Media picked up one in print. But he's not
overzealous about an online cartooning career.
"Revenue on the Web is still
difficult," he said. "It's still hard to generate enough
revenues for an artist to produce a daily comic strip. We're
just getting to the point in the next 18 months, where that will
start to be realistic. And we'll be able to identify new talent
and generate enough revenue and can provide a daily comic experience
across the Web. And eventually we'll have a new comic experience,
whether that's animated or whatever comes next."
GETTING RE-ANIMATED
UClick dabbled in animated editorial
cartoons before the dot-com bubble burst, and Pizey is keen to
find an animated series. But right now, there's only one prominent
editorial cartoonist doing animation online as a full-time freelancer:
Mark Fiore. Fiore started
out doing static cartoons for the San Francisco Examiner, and
even drew them from Boulder, Colorado, back in 1992 -- without
the benefit of the Web to follow San Francisco local news.
"I got a print subscription
to the Examiner, which cost an arm and a leg," Fiore told
me. "It was like $100 per month or more. I got the papers
in paper bags about a week later, 5 to 7 days after they were
published. I'd do a packet of cartoons on local San Francisco
issues and FedEx them back to the Examiner. It was a very expensive,
money-losing situation, but that's how we had to do it in the
old days."
Fiore eventually moved to Los
Angeles, where he learned animation and tried to make the Hollywood
scene. After giving up on that and moving north to San Francisco,
Fiore freelanced for various California newspapers and got his
dream job as staff cartoonist for the San Jose Mercury News.
Unfortunately, that was right as the dot-com downturn started,
and Fiore had grown accustomed to the freelance lifestyle. He
left the Mercury News and started doing animations regularly
for various news sites and e-zines.
Now he's been able to support
himself doing one animation per week, and doing a small self-syndicated
run to Working For Change, AOL, Village Voice, as well as SFGate
and MotherJones.com. He charges about $300 per outlet per animation,
and would like to add more outlets, without overexposing himself
and having to lower his price.
"If you're drawing for a
cartoon locally in Dubuque then there's no problem if it also
runs in Des Moines," Fiore said. "But on the Web people
can flip around so fast. I'm trying to keep up a level of scarcity,
but I don't want to be quite so scarce."
Fiore also started selling DVDs of his work, just
as the duo at JibJab had done before the election. He sold 200
copies before he even had finished making the DVD. But despite
his success at skewering every aspect of the Bush administration's
foibles, Fiore remains alone as a successful editorial animator
online. "I'd rather be a pioneer than an anomaly,"
he said. "I hope there's other people that come along and
do this."
Don Asmussen, the staff
editorial cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle, has
experience doing political animations for dot-com startup Mondo
Media. In fact, he held two full-time jobs in '98-'99 as cartoonist
for the Chronicle and animator for Mondo -- doing one animation
per week during that time. Asmussen's animations
are much longer, fuller productions -- and he had the help of
other animators and producers at Mondo. But the economics never
worked out.
Asmussen told me that banner
ads weren't working then and that no one would sit through an
ad before or during a three-minute animation. Plus, the online
audience at the time didn't have an interest in political spoofs.
"My biggest concern is that
the people who are really into political satire tend to be a
little older, and kids tend to be into social satire like 'The
Simpsons,'" Asmussen said. "With political satire,
we got into this weird area where the audience isn't really into
computers, and the younger people who would access your stuff
easily would be into a different type of humor. But that might
have changed in the last couple of years, with 'The Daily Show'
changing what people expect with political humor. The audience
will be there, but I'm not sure if the money will be."
Asmussen's popular "Bad
Reporter" editorial strip in the Chronicle was just picked
up by Universal Press Syndicate, and he's hoping to start doing
animations for SFGate. He sees animation as the wave of the future
for editorial cartoonists, forever stuck in a one-frame, one-liner
joke.
Meanwhile, UClick's new wireless
service, GoComics.com, has carriage by Sprint, Verizon, and Orange
so far. Though still in its infancy, the service had 2.5 million
downloads of comics, cell wallpapers and ringtones in the past
year, and UClick's Pizey says it's the fastest growing part of
his business.
But Cagle isn't ready to jump
on the cellular bandwagon yet, saying he was offered a wireless
deal that wouldn't pay him money for two years.
Whether the Net can bring a renaissance
to political cartooning or not, the time seems ripe for political
spoofs, and the instant nature of e-mail and viral marketing
remain a breeding ground for visual and animated satire. And
as Neseman has proven, you don't have to be a local to draw locally.
"I'm thinking about doing
six months in Florida," Neseman told me. "That's simple.
I just have to put a computer under my arm and go south."
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