I thought, since Mike mostly foregoes politics on Fridays, today would be a good time to update the reaction to the New York Times cartoon ban.
But the AAEC beat me with their roundup earlier today.
Though I think I can find a few cartoons if not editorials..
It’s easy when Keith Knight puts out The K Chronicles after the AAEC update:
And then there’s the “Lego In Your Heel” theory.
This theory postulates that cartoonists can cause a ruckus, resulting in lost subscriptions and advertisers.
And with our 21st century attention spans, a single, brutally honest, graphic cartoon can be more influential that an article that might get skimmed.
Possibly influencing a decline in profits, or control.
I think I’ve seen David Cohen‘s cartoon somewhere, but not his accompanying column.
Here’s a few cartoonists editorializing:
Milt Priggee
MIlt has a couple other cartoon commentaries on the Times at his site.
The Cartoon Movement has more cartoons about the Times decision.
Of course, cartoons themselves should be equally open to criticism and they can certainly be confronting.
However, the recent spate of cartooning controversies shows we have forgotten the wonderfully transgressive and provocative nature of the medium.
…
Cartoons and cartoonists are obviously not above criticism. But it is important we put cartoons in their appropriate historical context.
We need to defend this form of artwork, which is by its nature and history deliberately provocative. Banning cartoons will deprive us of a little more satire and mockery in the world. And that is a real shame.
In Australia, Monica Wilkie has a take on controversial cartoons.