No on comic change.
Lee Action Reaction (Dilbert Update)
Skip to comments
No matter what kind of change, other than doubling the amount of comics while keeping all the regular ones, newspaper editors must be prepared to receive negative comments from their readers.
The latest change to Lee Enterprises newspapers brought the inevitable response.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which went from 34 comics to 10, has been upfront about publishing reader’s letters.
Where is the promised news benefits from comics cuts?
I have yet to find the increased local news coverage that was promised to result from the gutting of the comics section.Comics page is often a child’s first introduction to newspaper.
But now the paper has all but eliminated the comics, which are in many cases a child’s first introduction to a newspaper.No More frittering away time with comics enjoyment.
Perhaps I will spend the extra time that I now have meditating about why I am spending a great deal of money subscribing to a …New generic feature stories are a waste of ink and paper.
The latest move to homogenize all the feature sections across publications, putting the Post-Dispatch in the same category as …St. Louis newspaper market different from small towns.
The Post-Dispatch now offers our large, diverse, vibrant market the same generic coverage that parent company Lee Enterprises …The Post-Dispatch suffers death by a thousand cuts.
I have been a Post-Dispatch subscriber since the 1960s, and I believe the newspaper’s parent company, Lee Enterprises, is harming the paper.Ditch new format, bring back the old comics and puzzles.
I’m not satisfied with the new comics and puzzle page and am seriously considering canceling my subscription to the Post-Dispatch.
And many more.
And cartoonists from competing syndicates are understandably upset that only selected Andrews McMeel comics are allowed in the daily newspapers or on the e-edition platforms.
Wayno and I have received numerous emails from readers this week about Bizarro having disappeared from their local newspaper. Sadly, it is true.
Lee Enterprises, a newspaper group that is majority-owned by a large investment firm, stopped running Bizarro and many other comics in their papers this past week. Lee Enterprises owns more than 75 newspapers across the United States and they are standardizing their comics pages with a handful of features they think Americans should read.
Although most of you who read these blog posts read our comics online, newspapers are our most reliable—and almost only—revenue source and provide the income that allows us to continue to make comics. Many readers figure that since Bizarro is well-known that I must be rich. That’s never been the case and as more people turn to reading comics exclusively online, the industry has continued to shrink along with my income.
Until now, newspaper client losses have been gradual and we’ve taken them in stride.
© Bizarro Studios; © King Features Syndicate
John Rose reached out to fans on his Facebook page:
The Democrat Herald was the only other Lee paper I found that printed negative reactions to the changes:
Please bring back “Baby Blues,” “Red and Rover,” “Mutts” and “Zits.”
Get rid of “Luann,” “Crabgrass,” “The Argyle Sweater,” “Close to Home.” Your readers are not teenagers; most are older adults. “Red and Rover” always makes us happy.
© Brian Basset; © Dana Simpson
And from a Phoebe and Her Unicorn fan:
Why did you remove the comic strip “Phoebe and Her Unicorn” from its rightful place in the funnies section?
I am disappointed. It was one of the highlights in my school day to read it. Dana Simpson wrote the strip with lots of sparkle, many strong (and fun!) female characters who lead the way, and a diverse range of important roles who accompany her magical setup and dash of goofiness to accompany her easy-to-read humor. It’s a popular comic strip for many kids, so why get rid of it?
So even fans of AMS strips are not happy as a number of those were also cut.
As Scott Hodges reported Lee is consolatory, but will ride out the storm.
I’m sorry – truly – that these changes have upset you. I wish I could make you feel better about them. All I can ask is that you understand that we’re a local news company, and our investments and decisions reflect the responsibility we have as a company to make sure that accurate, fair and balanced community journalism continues to thrive throughout our local news markets throughout the rest of the country.
Next day Update (September 20):
Another Andrews McMeel syndicated cartoonist is not happy with The Change:
The “Dilbert” comic strip named after its title character struggling to make it up the corporate ladder and often pokes fun at office culture with satirical humor and social commentary has been canceled in nearly 80 markets, its author told Fox News.
Scott Adams, who has written and illustrated the popular comic since 1989, said Lee Enterprises stopped printing it this week. The media company owns nearly 100 newspapers throughout the United States.
“It was part of a larger overhaul, I believe, of comics, but why they decided what was in and what was out, that’s not known to anybody except them, I guess,” he told Fox News.
Adams noted that other comic strips were also permanently canceled but the decisions on which ones to get rid of were made individually.
The “Dilbert” comic strip, which takes its name from the figure who attempts to climb the corporate ladder, frequently makes fun of office culture with satirical comedy and social commentary, Adams told Fox News. This is probably why it was abruptly discontinued in nearly 80 regions, Adams told FOX News.
Critics of Scott Adams claim that Lee Enterprises presents as a right leaning corporation and that other comic strips were similarly cancelled. They contend the decision was more of a budgetary decision, rather than cultural.
Comments 8
Comments are closed.