Wichita Eagle editorial cartoonist Richard Crowson has been laid off from his newspaper as part of the McClatchy-wide staff reduction effort. The paper has dropped its workforce by 2% this year already. The parent company, McClatchy announced earlier that it was trimming 10 percent, or 1,150 full-time employees from its payroll.
Richard told the Wichita Business Journal that he is “take time off and enjoy not having a daily deadline. But he also is looking into other types of art and illustration projects.”
Sad, sad, sad. We won awards together as college cartoonists. Another veteran with decades of service to his newspaper and perhaps the one cartoonist really covering his state… yet another sacrifice to the almighty Bottom Line.
Editorial cartooning is dead. Anyone who goes into this is nutz!!! Be a plumber!!!!
The Chicago Tribune just changed it’s format, dropping the Local Draw feature. That was the Sunday Perspective section’s free lance local content editorial cartoon spot. They had that for a few years, paid pretty well, but, thing of the past now. Also the comic strips are even smaller.
Terrible news. You’re right, Greenberg: the only guy covering this state.
I wonder how many cartoonists thought that the media deregulation which allowed these corporate giants to assume control over every outlet in the country was a good idea.
It is sad. Crowson’s cartoons were one of my favorite things in the Eagle. Gradually everything is going towards ‘Online.’
Did anyone else do a double-take on Crowson’s “DisembARKment” cartoon depicting the Flood Stage of this year’s bluegrass festival in a can of trash? I’ve talked with both pickers and campers who were offended by that image. Certainly nothing to loose his job over however.
GOOD RIDDANCE! THE GUY WAS OVER THE TOP BIASED.