The Fading Art of Editorial Cartooning
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In the summer of 2018, I drew a political cartoon for the local newspaper of a small Adirondack lake community in upstate New York.
Hilarious, right? Well, not everyone thought so.
After the cartoon ran, the editor informed me that several people had canceled their subscriptions, calling the cartoon mean-spirited and partisan. He said the newspaper would need to be more cautious about publishing political cartoons in the future as the paper was not in a position to lose subscribers.
The conversation left me baffled. I pointed out that the paper regularly published editorials critical of President Donald Trump and other local Republicans. Why should a cartoon be any different?
The editor explained: Most people don’t read.
Cartoonist Heywood Reynolds mourns the loss of an art form for The Times Union.
Still, artists and cartoonists are thriving on social media. By “thriving,” I mean their work is widely shared — but almost no one is paying them.
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