The Daily Cartoonist » Publications

Newspapers no longer provide social currency

Alan Gardner — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:30:38 +0000

Jack Shafer of Slate has written a commentary in Business Spectator about the demise of the print newspaper. In essence he maintains that the social web (Facebook, etc.) has replaced the newspaper’s traditional role of social currency.

Not that long ago, the daily newspaper was an indispensable coiner of social currency, and it gave its readers piles of the stuff in each edition. The phrase, which comes from sociology, is often used to describe the information we acquire and then trade – or give away – to start, maintain, and nurture relationships with our fellow humans.

Take, for instance, the voluminous results of newspaper sports pages. Terrific for sports fans, of course, but the sports pages have been used to grease sales calls, break ice on first dates, and fuel water-cooler bonding for a century. Even folks who don’t care for sports skimmed the sports pages for a little something about the games and athletes so they could engage in essential small-talk.

For as long as anybody can remember, the newspaper has been the primary info-hub through which people interacted. Oh, people might have talked to the shoe-shine man or their broker about what they heard on the radio or saw on television, but nothing could beat the newspaper as a source for socially lubricating conversation. How many times have you heard a conversation start, “Didja see that article …”?

Stay Tooned! Magazine launches

Alan Gardner — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:00:21 +0000

John Reads long attempt to start his Stay Tooned! quarterly magazine has hit its first milestone - launching. The premiere issue features Marcus Hamilton (Dennis the Menace), John Rose (Snuffy Smith), Greg Cravens (The Buckets), Scott Stantis (Prickly City), Steve Kelley (The Times-Picayune), Marshall Ramsey (The Clarion-Ledger), Steven Butler (Sonic X), John Deaton (The Toon Factory) and Rob Corley (Funny Pages Productions). The magazine will also have three columns by Tom Richmond (MAD Magazine), Norm Feuti (Retail) and R.C. Harvey (Rants & Raves)

Subscriptions are new available. Issue #1 is $9.00 or you can opt for the 5 issue subscription for only $36. Visit John’s web site to purchase.

Stay Tooned! magazine delayed

Alan Gardner — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:19:01 +0000

Just received a FYI email from John Read. Due to problems with printers he’s had to delay the launch of his new magazine Stay Tooned!. He’s optimistic that the first edition will be available during the first week of March.

Stay Tooned! coming in December

Alan Gardner — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:07:43 +0000

John Read has sent me a copy of the cover of the upcoming first edition of his Stay Tooned! magazine that will hopefully launch before Christmas Day. The cover offers original art from Marcus Hamilton (Dennis the Menace), John Rose (Barney Google and Snuffy Smith), Rob Corley (BoyRobo), Scott Stantis (Prickly City), Steven Butler (Sonic the Hedgehog), and Greg Cravens (The Buckets). Greg designed the cover.

New Quarterly Cartoon Publication to Debut in November

Alan Gardner — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:20:31 +0000

Dave Astor writes that a new quarterly cartooning publication will be debuting in November entitled, “Stay Tooned!” The magazine is being created by John Read who intends to “combine the best parts of ‘Cartoonist PROfiles’ — telling the stories of professional cartoonists, and ‘The Aspiring Cartoonist’ — information and instruction for cartoonists.”

The first edition will have a southern-cartoonist themes and feature Steve Kelley, Marshall Ramsey, Scott Stantis, John Rose, Mark Pett, Marcus Hamilton, Jimmy Johnson, and Greg Cravens.

R.C. Harvey will also write a regular column.