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Chappatte Decade!

Our talented Cagle-Cartoons-Colleague Patrick Chappatte lives in Switzerland and drew for many years for the international edition of The New York Times; his cartoons appeared prominently on The New York Times Web site and it looked like Patrick was close to getting the cartoon-phobic Old Gray Lady to embrace him as it’s editorial cartoonist for all of their editions when an obscure editor in Hong Kong selected an anti-Semitic cartoon by another cartoonist to run in the Times’ international edition. The Times over-reacted, not by educating, or firing the errant editor, but by banning all traditional editorial cartoons from all of the their editions. Patrick is the only cartoonist I’ve ever heard of, who was fired because of a cartoon that someone else drew, and because of a bad decision made by someone else’s editor.

Cartoonists are still angry with The New York Times, but Patrick has landed on his feet; he now draws for the European newspapers Le Temps and NZZ am Sontag; we’re proud to syndicate Patrick’s excellent work. Read about the NY Times dropping all editorial cartoons and read Patrick’s response. Cartoonists from around the world drew cartoons in support of Patrick when he was fired, see some of them here.

See the cartoons that Patrick selected as his favorite cartoons of the decade for USA Today where you can click on each image to see a very big, pretty view, or see Patrick’s favorites on this page by scrolling down.  See the complete archive of Patrick’s syndicated cartoons here.

Look at our other, great collections of Cartoons Favorites of the Decade, selected by the artists.
Pat Bagley Decade!
Nate Beeler Decade!
Daryl Cagle Decade! 
Patrick Chappatte Decade!
John Cole Decade!
John Darkow Decade!
Bill Day Decade!
Sean Delonas Decade!
Bob Englehart Decade!
Randall Enos Decade!
Dave Granlund Decade!
Taylor Jones Decade!
Mike Keefe Decade!
Peter Kuper Decade!
Jeff Koterba Decade!
RJ Matson Decade!
Gary McCoy Decade!
Rick McKee Decade!
Milt Priggee Decade!
Bruce Plante Decade!
Steve Sack Decade!


We need your support for Cagle.com (and DarylCagle.com)! Notice that we run no advertising! We depend entirely upon the generosity of our readers to sustain the site. Please visit Cagle.com/heroes and make a contribution. You are much appreciated!


 

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Blog Newsletter Syndicate

More NYT and We Need Your Support!

The cartoons bashing The New York Times for banning editorial cartoons continue to come in. The foreign press seems to be picking up steam on the issue also. This article is one of a nice batch from the current French news magazine Liberation which did a cover story with art by Chappatte. They include an interview with Antonio Antunes, who drew the cartoon that started all of this – and here is a nice editorial.

The cartoon museum at St Just le Martel will be doing an exhibition of cartoons about The New York Times banning editorial cartoons. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also do a book. We’ve collected over 40 cartoons just from our CagleCartoons group to contribute to their show that will be up for their “Salon” this Fall. The cartoons keep pouring in. Some of my newest favorites are displayed below.

The New York Times isn’t alone in being timid about editorial cartoons. Cartoonists are buffeted on all sides by: timid liberal editors who don’t want to offend anyone; by conservative editors who say “we don’t like any of the cartoons anymore;” by offended readers who demand retribution against cartoonists and their timid publishers; and by cost cutting accountants at newspapers who see editorial cartoons as a troublesome expense that isn’t bringing in any advertising revenue.

We’re doing another fundraising push for our Cagle.com site – notice that we don’t run advertising on Cagle.com; the site is supported entirely by contributions from our readers. Cagle.com is the face of editorial cartooning to the world; we offend despots; we defend free speech. Editorial cartoons are important and endangered – we would really appreciate your support at this important time! Please visit Cagle.com/Heroes and consider making a donation to the cause.

My old buddy Jeff Parker retired from editorial cartooning some years ago, but came out of retirement to draw this one …

 

This one is by my pal, Steve Sack

 

This one is from the brilliant John Darkow

 

From my buddy and conservative, press-freedom loving pal, Gary McCoy

 

From French cartoonist, Robert Rousso

 

From our frequent blogger, Randy Enos

 

Here are new chickens from Milt Priggee

 

This one is by Portuguese cartoonist, Cristina Sampaio …

 

And Bulgarian virtuoso, Christo Komarnitsky …

 

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Blog Syndicate

Delonas Cartoon Controversy

We syndicated this cartoon by Sean Delonas which has caused some controversy.

The cartoon was run in the Albuquerque Journal, which got blowback from local readers and politicians. The New York Times also wrote about the controversy. The Albuquerque Journal editor who ran the cartoon apologized. Here is a statement I gave to reporters.

Our conservative cartoonist, Sean Delonas, gave us this statement about the cartoon:

I stand 100% behind the cartoon. The cartoon, for the most part, is about use of the word “dreamers.”  Politicians always give pleasing labels to bills that most Americans don’t want.

I do not have a problem with legal immigration, only illegal immigration. Sure, many illegal immigrants are good people; and many of them take advantage of our social services and some are criminals such as MS-13.  

What bothers me the most is that it is becoming harder for people to voice their opinions in this country; if they offer an opinion that is unpopular (particularly with the left), attempts are made to shut down their voices by calling them racist, sexist, etc…  At my age, I could care less what people call me.

I do feel sorry for The Albuquerque Journal editor who published my cartoon.  She looks like a nice person and I regret that she’s taking heat for my cartoon.

Sean Delonas

We regularly get complaints from readers who are offended by our cartoons. Much of our email is from readers who demand that we should censor and apologize for the editorial cartoons that offend them. Usually these complaints come from the right, as most of our cartoons criticize President Trump.

We don’t edit our cartoons for political point of view. We look to the spectrum of political debate to decide what is appropriate to syndicate and this cartoon is consistent with what we hear from the right end of the political spectrum.

Sean Delonas, has drawn this cartoon in support of President Trump’s view that “illegal immigrants” bring violent crime to America; the cartoon responds to the president’s recent comments about the MS-13 gang.

I’m not surprised that this cartoon sparks outrage. It is up to each newspaper editor to decide what is appropriate to run in their own newspaper.

My personal view is that I agree with the critics of Sean’s cartoon.

Truly,
Daryl Cagle
Cagle Cartoons, Inc, Newspaper Syndicate

 

Outraged readers aren’t shy about their condemnation of the cartoon. Here are a couple of examples from Twitter.

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Blog Syndicate

Media Bopper

The White House Correspondents Dinner was even more of a show this year as President Trump chose to have a competing rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Trump seemed to pull out all the stops on bashing the press, so I decided to pull out the bopper clown.

I almost did two versions of this cartoon, one with a media clown, and another with a normal looking reporter as the bopper. A few years ago I drew conservative and a liberal version of a cartoon because I changed my mind about the issue and I was assailed by some of my cartoonist colleagues who accused me of creating a new business plan to get twice the value at half the cost, by drawing two versions of cartoons while abandoning my principals.  I was tempted to do two versions of this one, to annoy my colleagues, rather  just for fun – but the clown version was better.

I’ve also been rethinking the way I draw Trump to be more how I feel Trump than how I actually see Trump, so I’m making him fatter, with a longer, bigger, bottom of the face just because the bottom half of his face is more interesting and when cartoonists find something interesting, we make it bigger. Big hair. Big bottom of the face. Big poochy lips.

Boxing with an inflatable bopper character is a standard editorial cartooning cliché. Here’s another one of mine from ten years ago …

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Blog Syndicate

The New York Times, a Student Contest and Editorial Cartoons

The New York Times, which doesn’t have an editorial cartoonist and dropped their weekly round-up of syndicated editorial cartoons years ago, recently announced a contest for budding, young, student editorial cartoonists, who may grow up to not be published in the New York Times.

NYtimesClipThis story is so tone deaf and ironic that I had to write a bit about it. A judge of the contest is my cartoonist buddy, Patrick Chappatte, pictured at right, who draws for the New York Times owned “International New York Times” which was formerly the “International Herald Tribune.” Patrick lives and works from his home in Switzerland.

The Times runs a lot of illustrations on their editorial pages, and these may look like editorial cartoons to readers, but illustrations are done to the specifications of the client, and are usually depicting the ideas of the writer of the columns that the art accompanies. Editorial cartoonists are like visual columnists, we draw our own ideas, something that clearly makes editors at the New York Times feel uncomfortable.

There are two famous, unattributed quotes from NY Times editors:

1) We would never hire an editorial cartoonist because we would never give so much power to one man.

2) We would never hire an editorial cartoonist because you can’t edit and editorial cartoonist like you can a writer.

Most of the syndicated cartoonists submitted their work to the Times back when they did a weekly “round-up.” The Times would pick perhaps three cartoons, and paid $50.00 each, but only if the cartoonist noticed that they ran his cartoon, and sent them an invoice. When I asked them about this system, they told me that they expect everyone to read the Times, so, of-course, everyone would notice if a cartoon was used.

Suppose I placed a standing order with McDonalds; I would instruct McDonalds to deliver a hamburger to me every day at lunch time. I may or may not choose to eat the hamburger, and if I choose to eat it I’ll pay for it, but only if someone from McDonalds sees me eating it and asks me to pay. Cartoonists went along with a plan that McDonalds would never countenance.

Sometime after dropping their round-up, editors at the Times had second thoughts. They had conducted surveys where readers responded that they missed seeing editorial cartoons in the Times, so the Times decided to bring the round-up back, but this time, without paying the pesky $50.00 fee to the cartoonists. They sent emails to the top cartoonists, inviting them to submit again, for the privilege and exposure that having a cartoon in the Times would bring them.

To their credit, my colleagues revolted, with most of them responding in emails to the Times that they would not submit cartoons for no payment and the Times dropped the idea.

And that’s where we are with traditional editorial cartoons in the New York Times – America’s newspaper of record; they could have any of the best editorial cartoonists jump at the opportunity to work for them, but, alas, we’re not worth $50.00.

The biggest circulation newspaper in America, The Wall Street Journal, doesn’t have an editorial cartoonist either. At least USA Today still pays $50.00 for a cartoon.

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American Response to the Charlie Hebdo Tragedy

American Response to the Charlie Hebdo Tragedy © Daryl Cagle,CagleCartoons.com,Charlie Hebdo, terrorism, killing, France, Paris, cartoonists, cartoon, Stéphane Charbonnier, Charb, Cabu, Wolinski, Tignous, media, television, TV, news, cartoonist, pundits, fox news, can, msnbc, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Ft Lauderdale, Obama, president, community colleges, st louis spurs, basketball, sports

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Cartoons

American Response to the Charlie Hebdo Tragedy

American Response to the Charlie Hebdo Tragedy © Daryl Cagle,CagleCartoons.com,Charlie Hebdo,terrorism,killing,France,Paris,cartoonists,cartoon,Stéphane Charbonnier,Charb,Cabu,Wolinski,Tignous,media,television,TV,news,cartoonist,pundits,fox news,can,msnbc,Los Angeles Times,Wall Street Journal,New York Times,Florida Sun-Sentinel,Fort Lauderdale,Ft Lauderdale,Obama,president,community colleges, st louis spurs,basketball,sports

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Muppet Truth Stranger than Fiction

After posting this cartoon about the evil, greedy Goldman Sachs calling their clients “Muppets,” I learned that the Muppets actually were clients of Goldman Sachs.

Apparently, back in 2003, the family of Muppets creator Jim Henson was advised by Goldman on buying back all the characters from a merchandising company:

Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, announced that he, his sisters Lisa, Cheryl and Heather, and his brother, John, have signed a definitive agreement to acquire The Jim Henson Company from EM.TV & Merchandising AG for $78 million in cash. Upon completion of the transaction, all five family members will serve on the company’s board of directors, and Brian and Lisa Henson will be actively involved in the company’s management.

Too bad there was never a “vampire squid” muppet. Here’s my cartoon:

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Blog

New York Times Takes a ‘Second Look’ at Cartoon Policy

Last week, I wrote a column about a new policy initiated by The New York Times geared towards returning political cartoons to their Sunday Review section. I applauded the decision to bring back cartoons, but was critical of the paltry fee they were offering, as well as their idea to have cartoonists submit their ideas on spec.

Today I received an email from the Editors of The Times, which said:

As I’m sure you all know, we got a lot of reactions to our request for cartoons for a new feature in the Sunday Review — much of it negative. Your very good questions and criticisms of our process have forced us to take a second look, and to reconsider. We are going to postpone adding the cartoon to our section until we can figure out a process that is fair to cartoonists and also works for us.

This is good news, and hopefully they will consider all suggestions and come back with a more reasonable offer that respects the great work that political cartoonists do.

Here were my suggestions:

1. Try reprinting the best syndicated cartoons again, with signatures of the artists in place, and without the title, “Laugh Lines,” so that cartoons which make a reader cry or think might get equal play in The Times as the little jokes.

2. Or, if you want an exclusive cartoon, trust one cartoonist and pay him or her fairly. Find someone whose point of view is in line with The Times’ editorial stance; commit to that cartoonist and give him the same freedom that you do with your columnists. After all, editorial cartoonists are graphic columnists, except that our work is more powerful than the words of columnists. Nobody tears out a column and sticks it to their refrigerator.

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Blog Featured

The New York Times Cartoon Kerfuffle

There was a “cartoon kerfuffle” this week as The New York Times announced that they would begin running traditional editorial cartoons again, in an email invitation to selected, top political cartoonists. It was good news that one of America’s biggest newspapers would again embrace our art form, but their offer was so lousy it only made the cartoonists angry.

What The Times proposed was having all the best cartoonists submit finished cartoons to them on Fridays, for publication in their Sunday edition. The Times wanted the cartoons to be exclusive to them; the cartoons could not be reprinted elsewhere. The Times would pick one of the cartoons and pay the winning cartoonist a paltry $250, sending him an exclusive contract only after he wins the selection contest; the dozens of losing cartoonists would get nothing. Of course, the cartoonists reacted to this offer with disgust, and the Internet has been buzzing with cartoon disdain for the arrogant New York Times the past few days.

The Times is arguably the most prestigious newspaper, and they have been without a staff editorial cartoonist for many decades – a sore spot for our beleaguered editorial cartooning profession which has been losing jobs at about the same rate as newsroom journalists, as newspapers’ fortunes have declined. Before dropping editorial cartoons entirely, The Times ran a weekly “round-up” of syndicated cartoons under the title, “Laugh Lines,” in which they selected funny cartoons that were like Jay Leno jokes, expressing no strong opinion, but good for a smile. Cartoonists suspected that the new cartoon in the Times would be the same, encouraging cartoonists to compete for The Times’ favor by submitting opinionless, funny cartoons that would further “dumb-down” the profession. The Times would also remove the artist’s signature from their editorial cartoons, an annoyance to the cartoonists.

Newspapers have gotten used to the idea that editorial cartoons are cheap, because of “syndication” where cartoonists distribute their cartoons to hundreds of newspapers through “syndicates” (businesses that charge very little for the cartoons). But syndication is no extra work for the cartoonist, distributing only cartoons that the cartoonist has already drawn for his own newspaper, and the syndicated cartoons are “non-exclusive,” that is, they can be purchased and reprinted anywhere, unlike The New York Times proposal for exclusive cartoons for only $250, with a contest between cartoonists who would spend time submitting and making changes for The Times’ editors, with only one cartoonist having his work printed and getting paid.

It is a sign of our times, of how far our cartooning profession has fallen, and of how callously editors have devalued our work that the Times would solicit cartoons under these conditions – and also a sign of how arrogant The New York Times has become, to assume that top cartoonists would participate. There has been some blowback, with prominent cartoonists writing letters to The Times dissing the offer and refusing to participate; one of my favorites came from award-winning Canadian cartoonist Cam Cardow who wrote:

“I suggest you take this idea back to the boardroom from which it was birthed and have it reconsidered. I would also humbly suggest that your editors take an afternoon off and head to the local library to study the contributions editorial cartooning has made to journalism and society. For one, you’ll be surprised to find out professional cartoonists don’t live in trailer parks, or panhandle at malls. Some of us even have all our teeth. Well, we Canadian do.”

I’m told that The Times is now “revisiting the policy.” I have a few suggestions for The Times:

1. Try reprinting the best syndicated cartoons again, with signatures of the artists in place, and without the title, “Laugh Lines,” so that cartoons which make a reader cry or think might get equal play in The Times as the little jokes.

2. Or, if you want an exclusive cartoon, trust one cartoonist and pay him or her fairly. Find someone whose point of view is in line with The Times’ editorial stance; commit to that cartoonist and give him the same freedom that you do with your columnists. After all, editorial cartoonists are graphic columnists, except that our work is more powerful than the words of columnists. Nobody tears out a column and sticks it to their refrigerator.

Added February 9, 2012:

I was pleased to read this letter from National Cartoonists Society President, Tom Richmond, to the New York Times today, opposing their editorial cartoon scheme. Visit Tom’s blog to read more of his comments surrounding the NCS position on the issue.

Ms. Aviva Michaelov
Art Director, New York Times
Opinion Pages | Sunday Review

Dear Ms. Michaelov,

I read with mixed emotions your letter of February 6th to a selection of professional editorial cartoonists calling for submissions for a new editorial cartoon feature in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times.

On one hand, I was pleased to see that the Times was bringing back an editorial cartoon to the Sunday Review. In this day of dwindling editorial cartoon voices in the press, such an addition, particularly in a publication as respected and read as the New York Times, is very welcome.

I was dismayed, however, in the way in which the cartoons were to be submitted, chosen and paid for. The editorial cartoonists are expected to submit finished cartoons completely on spec, and your editorial staff will chose one for publication each week. The submitting cartoonists are to agree that, if chosen, their cartoon becomes an exclusive to the Times, not to be reprinted anywhere. The cartoonist who’s work is chosen gets paid $250, and those who do not get chosen get nothing.

The work of creative professionals today is under siege, being constantly devalued through a multitude of fronts, not the least the internet. Writers, artists, cartoonists, designers and other creatives who are attempting to make a living with with their talents and hard work face increasing assaults by “clients” who seem to expect them to do work for either very little pay, or only the hope of being paid. Being asked to do spec work is nothing new in the cartooning world, but when it comes from a publication like the New York Times and it is specifically aimed at some of the industry’s top professionals, it is alarming.

The Times is arguably the most well-known and prestigious newspaper in the United States. It should be championing and supporting the work of the industry’s top professionals in all facets of journalism—reporters, columnists, feature writers, editorialists, and—yes . . . cartoonists. An initiative like this does the opposite. It contributes to the devaluation of the work of editorial cartoonists not just in the offer of extremely low pay and the submission of finished work without the expectation of ANY pay, but in the very nature of editorial cartoons as an individual voice of real opinion. Editorial cartoonists are visual columnists who have specific voices, and “competitions” like this discourage that individuality while encouraging the pursuit and of whatever joke might give the jury the biggest chuckle of the week. To stage such a competition among an amateur public would be one thing, to ask a specific group of well-established and professional editorial cartoonists to do it is quite another. That is a slap in the face to their work and profession.

While I applaud your desire to once again feature individual editorial cartoons in the Times, I sincerely hope you will rethink this approach. It would behoove the Times to conduct a search among the countries best editorial cartoonists for one that has a voice that is in keeping with the editorial position of your newspaper, and then commission them to produce a weekly cartoon for which they are paid a living wage for exclusive rights. Such a change would support the professional of cartooning and journalism, and be in keeping with the reputation of theNew York Times as one of the world’s leading newspapers.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Sincerely,

Tom Richmond, President
National Cartoonists Society