Cartoon Site's Traffic Soars As 80-Plus Artists Join 'Black Ink' Protest

By: Dave Astor More than 80 editorial cartoonists created about 125 drawings criticizing the shrinking state of their profession for today's "Black Ink Monday" protest.

Exactly 100 of those cartoons are currently posted at EditorialCartoonists.com, according to Association of American Editorial Cartoonists President-Elect Rob Rogers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and United Media. The AAEC organized the protest.

A note on EditorialCartoonists.com states: "'Black Ink Monday,' a nonviolent protest by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, is a response to the Tribune Company's recent elimination of editorial cartooning positions at several of its newspapers, as well as a commentary on newspapers everywhere who have lost sight of the value of having a staff editorial cartoonist. Are you as mad as we are? If so, tell it to the Tribune Company's Gary Weitman, VP of Corporate Communications: gweitman@tribune.com."

Weitman declined to tell E&P how many protest-related messages he received Monday. He did say: "Decisions about editorial cartoonists and how those positions are filled get made by our individual newspapers, as do all decisions on staffing." So, said Weitman, questions should be addressed to the Los Angeles Times and The Sun of Baltimore -- two Tribune Co. papers that are shedding cartoon positions.

While the number of e-mails Weitman might have received is not known, EditorialCartoonists.com News Editor J.P. Trostle said traffic on the AAEC site increased fivefold Monday morning. "We usually get about 3,000 views per hour. Today we got more than 15,000 views the first hour," said Trostle, who is expecting 30,000-plus views per hour as the day goes on.

Rogers said he'd be surprised if Tribune Co. newspapers brought back cartoonists because of "Black Ink Monday." But he hopes the protest might make some papers think twice about dropping a cartoonist in the future.

"Syndicated cartoons may be cheaper, but a local cartoonist gives a newspaper something no other newspaper has," said Rogers.

The Post-Gazette staffer said he understands the economic concerns of newspapers and newspaper chains. But he added that most papers with cartoonists only have one cartoonist -- meaning dropping that person basically eliminates an entire department. Rogers said a paper without a staff cartoonist is more "homogenous" and "vapid," which "doesn't sound like a great business decision."

Rogers said the protest is a way for editorial cartoonists to publicize the shrinking of their profession, "vent some of our frustrations," "band together in a common cause," and "support those who have lost their jobs." Several former staff cartoonists are among the 80-plus who did "Black Ink Monday" drawings.

When asked how many print and online newspapers are running the "Black Ink Monday" cartoons, Rogers said he didn't know. He noted that editors may feel some of the protest cartoons are too newspaper-industry-specific, but others are geared to a general audience. Rogers did report that a number of creators did both their regular cartoon and a "Black Ink Monday" drawing for today.

Trostle said he heard from at least a half-dozen cartoonists Monday morning who said their newspapers "are enthusiastic" about publishing the protest drawings.

One "Black Ink Monday" cartoon, by 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner Nick Anderson of The Courier-Journal of Louisville and the Washington Post Writers Group, shows a King Kong-like accountant roaring as he straddles Chicago's Tribune Tower -- money clutched in his hand.

Another cartoon, by Glenn McCoy of the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat and Universal Press Syndicate, shows Boss Tweed in 1873 saying: "Let's stop those damn pictures!" The next panel shows a Tribune Co. executive saying in 2005: "Done!" The exec is holding a newspaper with the headline: "Cartoonist Position Nixed."

McCoy's cartoons often have a conservative slant, while Anderson's are more liberal.

At least a couple of "Black Ink Monday" drawings showed cartooning jobs outsourced to countries with lower wages.