Ever since Benjamin Franklin's famous "Join or Die" cartoon first appeared back in 1754, political cartoons in the United States have always drawn attention to important social issues happening in society. Unfortunately, staff cutbacks at newspapers and dwindling freelance budgets have caused many in the profession to stand back and question the role an editorial cartoon plays.
Complicating matters is a reluctance of some newspaper editors to publish controversial or hard-hitting cartoons, fearing negative reader response and continued declining subscription numbers. "Editors like funny cartoons about topics that readers are most interested in, rather than poignant cartoons about today's most important issues," says Daryl Cagle, the cartoonist for msnbc.com and owner of Cagle Cartoons. "The more offensive the cartoons, the smaller the market for the cartoons."
In terms of fodder for their cartoons, Cagle suggests cartoonists look to magazines at the supermarket checkout aisle and outlets like "The Today Show" in addition to hard news and politics.
Two-time Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Mike Luckovich agrees. "I want topics my readers are interested in and knowledgeable about," says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution cartoonist, whose work is distributed by Creators Syndicate. "It's important for me to find good topics that are front and center in political and pop culture."
Luckovich also thinks that it's easy for a cartoonist to come up with a hard-hitting idea. "The hard part is refining the idea so that it still has punch, but is also humorous," he says. "I think humor is the most important ingredient."
Popular cartoonist Ted Rall, syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, thinks sometimes it's not just about creating a laugh. "When the president says torture is OK, it's hard to come up with something hilarious to say," says Rall. "Showing the bastard soaked with blood might be heavy-handed, but hey, it's got to be said."
Holidays and Obituaries
No topic divides editorial cartoonists more than drawing a cartoon for an upcoming holiday or the death of a famous person.
"If all you are doing is acknowledging the time of the year or the fact that someone dies, you are not doing an editorial cartoon and should seek another line of work," suggests Matt Bors, whose cartoons are syndicated by United Media.
Unfortunately, most editors and readers enjoy these cartoons and they are often some of the most memorable.
"I think that cartoons are meant as an ongoing conversation with readers," says John Sweeney, the editorial page editor of the News Journal in Delaware. "I always look for a good Fourth of July or Veterans Day cartoon, because the best are able to sum up the sentiment in the community in a single image."
"I don't feel obligated to draw a cartoon about every holiday, but sometimes they provide a source of good visual metaphors," says Jimmy Margulies, the long time cartoonist at The Record in Bergen County, New Jersey. "If I think I can do something fresh and clever, then I will go with it."
A Future in Newspapers
Editorial cartoons remain one of the most popular features in newspapers. At those papers that still employ a staff cartoonist, they are able to weave a unique narrative day-to-day and interact with their readers.
Cartoons on local subjects are strong assets that staff cartoonists can uniquely bring to their newspapers. Nothing gets the attention of local politicians more than a cartoon in the local paper jabbing them. But cartoonists can do more service than just plug a cartoon into the op-ed page.
"Another way a cartoonist can be of service to their paper is to do public speaking to various community organizations," suggests Margulies. "That way, the cartoonist becomes a brand or personality that readers look for and help cement loyalty to the paper."
Rall, who often equates cartoonists to the "rock stars" of the newspaper, has never had a staff job at a newspaper, but he knows what he'd do if he were offered one.
"I'd create a strong voice with which the paper could be associated, one that would bring in new readers, generate discussion, and serve as community outreach to schools and other institutions," Rall says.
"I am bullish on newspapers; they have a bright future if they become more opinionated, cooler and thus more reflective of what American society wants."