Newspaper Editorial Cartoonists Plan 'Black Ink Monday' to Protest Job Losses

editorandpublisher ^ | Dec 2 05 | editorandpublisher

[churchillbuff]

Editorial cartoonists are joining together for a "Black Ink Monday" protest, E&P has learned. On Dec. 12, these artists will draw cartoons criticizing the newspaper industry -- and particularly the Tribune Co. -- for reducing the number of editorial cartooning jobs.

Comic cartoonists have cooperated to do "theme days" on rare occasions. But this may be a first for editorial cartoonists, said J.P. Trostle, news editor of Editorial Cartoonists.com -- the Web site of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

The site will publish the Dec. 12 cartoons criticizing the job losses. The AAEC also hopes newspapers will publish the cartoons and syndicates will distribute them.

Trostle told E&P that he does not yet know how many cartoonists will participate. The AAEC has more than 300 members, with perhaps a third of them affiliated with daily newspapers and/or major syndicates.

He added that some cartoonists may do a protest cartoon just for the AAEC site (the drawings are due Friday) and then create their usual cartoon for Dec. 12. Others may make their one and only Dec. 12 cartoon the protest one. Trostle said it remains to be seen if any newspapers will balk at running these protest drawings.

Among the reasons for the protest: "The Tribune Co.'s attitude has just flummoxed us," said Trostle, referring to all the cartoonist jobs lost or unfilled at that chain's newspapers.

Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher just accepted a buyout at The Sun of Baltimore, where Mike Lane also took a buyout in July 2004. The Sun said it doesn't plan to replace "KAL" in the foreseeable future. Also, the Los Angeles Times announced last month that it was laying off Michael Ramirez at the end of 2005 and eliminating the position. And the Chicago Tribune never replaced Jeff MacNelly after he died in 2000.

A statement about "Black Ink Monday" was posted Monday afternoon at EditorialCartoonists.com. Those signing it, in addition to Trostle, were AAEC President Clay Bennett, AAEC President-Elect Rob Rogers, and former AAEC President Bruce Plante.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Bennett is with The Christian Science Monitor and Christian Science Monitor News Service, Rogers is with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and United Media, and the self-syndicated Plante is with the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press

[Jet Jaguar]

ping.

[Gordongekko909]

Have fun with your cartoons, Brokey McNojob.

[jess35]

ROTFL! Of course, the cartoonists don't see that they're part of the problem with low circulation. I mean really, why on earth would I want to pay money to a paper that runs Mike Luckovich?

[GloriaJane]

Libs imploding? Turning on each other? LOL!

[GeronL]

These people have not heard of the market have they??

[GeronL]

Soon all the big dailies will demand government subsidies through a Corporation for Public Newspapering.

[MikeHu]

They need to get out of a dead-end job/industry.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

So instead of wasting their time doodling for pay, these liberal arts losers will move back in with their parents and doodle for no pay as they become increasingly neurotic...just like when they were teenagers!

[Lancey Howard]

Also, the Los Angeles Times announced last month that it was laying off Michael Ramirez at the end of 2005 and eliminating the position. And the Chicago Tribune never replaced Jeff MacNelly after he died in 2000.

Whoa...! Somehow I missed both of these items. Ramirez is about the only connection the LA Times has with normal America. And MacNelly was just a very good cartoonist for a very long time. I had no idea he died.

[Smokin' Joe]

Soon all the big dailies will demand government subsidies through a Corporation for Public Newspapering.

Yeah, but no one is thinking of the big picture, here.

How in the heck are you going to paper train puppies and line birdcages without them?

As it is now, with the local daily you have to save papers for a year before you can get a puppy....or get your friends and neighbors to chip in..

[GeronL]

The big daily here is pretty thick... there are always the shoppers of course.

[Lancey Howard]

Jeff MacNelly was great. He was a political cartoonist and had a terrific strip called 'Shoe'. He apparently had some pretty tough times.

"He joined the Chicago Tribune in 1982, and continued to earn acclaim in his field, winning his third Pulitzer and being judged "best in the business" among political cartoonists in 1987, 1989, and 1993. In 1991 he won the Sigma Delta Chi National Award for editorial cartooning. On June 8, 2000, he died of cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital."

"Aspen Times editorial cartoonist Jeffrey "Jake" MacNelly, son of Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, died Saturday, October 12th 1996, in a climbing accident on Independence Pass. Jake MacNelly, 24, was climbing at Diehard Rock about nine miles east of Aspen, when he fell about 75 feet, according to witnesses. The accident occurred at about 1 pm. Witnesses told the Pitkin County Sheriff's Department that Jake had climbed to the top of the rock and set a rope to rappell down. He took one step and fell, they said. An Aspen ambulance crew and 15 members of Mountain Rescue Aspen evacuated MacNelly, who was treated for massive trauma at Aspen Valley Hospital before he was pronounced dead."

[Lancey Howard]

A lot of communities have a recycle program. If you can find out where the people who still buy newspapers drop off their stacks of old newspapers for recycling, that would be a good source for puppy training material.

[AlexW]

Michael Ramiraz was an acquaintance of mine, back in Memphis. I was sorry to see him leave for LA, but I am sure the pay was much greater.
He is a nice guy, on top of being a great cartoonist.
He is also a good friend of Paul Shanklin, the political song guy for Rush.

[Tzimisce]

...you ever notice how the most raving communists in the United States won't give up their six figure incomes...

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Keyword recently inspired by Doctor Raoul:

BiasMeansLayoffs

[martin_fierro]

Also, the Los Angeles Times announced last month that it was laying off Michael Ramirez at the end of 2005 and eliminating the position.

Idiots. Mike Ramirez was the only thing redeeming that rag.

[muir_redwoods]

In a related story Buggy Whip manufactures plan a class action law suit against the auto industry for unfairly limiting their job opportunities and market prospects.

[pookie18]

Thanks for the ping. Of all those mentioned, the only one I'd miss is Ramirez...the rest are our "enemies". Someone jumped the gun ;-)