Cartoonist and Columnist Confabs Are Coming

By: Dave Astor Cartoonists and columnists will discuss the bad job market, censorship, diversity, and other topics at three spring meetings.

First up is the May 23-25 National Cartoonists Society weekend in San Francisco -- where scheduled speakers include Scott Adams ("Dilbert"/United Media), Bill Amend ("FoxTrot"/Universal Press Syndicate), Darby Conley ("Get Fuzzy"/United), Stephan Pastis ("Pearls Before Swine"/United), and Hilary Price ("Rhymes With Orange"/King Features Syndicate).

Also, the NCS (http://www.reuben.org) will present its Reuben Award for the year's top cartoonist. And Morrie Turner ("Wee Pals"/Creators Syndicate) is slated to receive the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering integrated comic strip.

The June 18-21 Association of American Editorial Cartoonists convention in Pittsburgh will offer sessions on jobs, local cartooning, controversial art, alternative vs. mainstream cartooning, and more. Among the many creators slated to speak at the event (http://pc99.detnews.com/aaec)are Rob Rogers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and United, and 2003 Pulitzer Prize winner David Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Tribune Media Services (TMS).

Sessions at the June 19-22 National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference in Tucson, Ariz., will focus on diversity, syndication, niche writing, and more. Among the many columnists speaking will be Ray Hanania (Creators), Ruben Navarrette Jr. (The Dallas Morning News/Washington Post Writers Group), and "World of Wonder" graphic journalist Laurie Triefeldt (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J./United). Also, the NSNC (http://www.columnists.com) will give its Lifetime Achievement Award to TMS columnist and 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney.

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'Pioneer Press' Denies Union Grievance

Cartoonist's Layoff Will Be Going To Arbitration

A grievance filed against the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press for laying off editorial cartoonist Kirk Anderson will go to arbitration.

The Minnesota Newspaper Guild-Typographical Union filed the grievance because it felt Anderson had some seniority in the paper's art department. But Pioneer Press management apparently argued, during a meeting to discuss the grievance, that Anderson was in a category of one as an editorial cartoonist.

"I was not surprised at all [that the paper didn't rescind the layoff]. But we wanted to give it one last shot," said Mike Sweeney, the union's executive officer. He added that the arbitration hearing probably won't take place for several months.

Sweeney noted that the eventual decision will not only be important for Anderson, but for other Pioneer Press staffers who could lose seniority rights if the paper decides to classify them in a category of one. Under that system, he said, a paper's only economics reporter would have seniority if classified in the general pool of reporters, yet no seniority if classified as an economics reporter.

In other news, a petition asking for Anderson's reinstatement was presented to Pioneer Press executives. Chuck Laszewski, a reporter at the paper, said the petition was signed by 250 Pioneer Press staffers -- about 98% of those approached.

Laszewski added that the paper has received at least 400 e-mails opposing Anderson's layoff.

Pioneer Press President/Publisher Harold Higgins and a spokesperson for the paper have both declined several E&P Online requests to talk about Anderson's layoff, which was effective April 24. Anderson had been a thrice-weekly staffer for the paper since 1995.

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A Tribute to Michael Kelly

It's Written By His Columnist Mother

"Family Almanac" columnist Marguerite Kelly paid tribute to her son, Michael Kelly, who died April 3 in Iraq.

"Mike's political column could be fierce and it infuriated some readers, but he was a sunny, funny fellow who made fun of himself, easily and often. That boy could make dog laugh," Marguerite wrote in piece appearing in the May 9 Washington Post. She added that her son was "a humble man, an honest man -- a moralist, really."

As for herself, Marguerite wrote: "My grief is amorphous, deceitful, unpredictable. Sometimes it hides behind distractions, sometimes it covers my spirits like the pall on Mike's coffin, and sometimes it knocks me flat, particularly when I think of Mike's beloved wife, Max, and their little boys, Tom, 7, and Jack, 3, who must live their lives without him."

Michael Kelly's column was syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group.

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Et Cetera ...

Mike Thompson of the Detroit Free Press and Copley News Service won the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi award for editorial cartooning. ...

A "Doonesbury" comic about Portland, Ore., reducing the number of school days was auctioned for $6,000 at a high school in that city. Garry Trudeau does "Doonesbury" for Universal Press Syndicate. ...

Three editorial cartoonists were slated to speak May 14 in Washington at an event sponsored by the Arlington, Va.-based Illustrators Club. The trio includes Ann Telnaes of Tribune Media Services (TMS), Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher of The Sun in Baltimore and the Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate, and the self-syndicated Matt Wuerker. ...

Mobliss is launching a multiplayer version of the "Wireless Jumble" word game based on the TMS feature. ...

Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services (KRT) launched a weekly Op-Ed feature focusing on freedom-of-information issues. ...

Universal introduced Mark Pett's "Lucky Cow" comic, which stars a father-daughter team running a fast-food franchise. ...

Creators Syndicate launched the "Working It Out" comic panel by Charlos Gary. ...

KRT promoted Becky Sher to managing editor of special sections. KRT Campus Editor Jody Mitori was named to succeed Sher as senior editor of special sections, and Kim Ossi was hired to replace Mitori as KRT Campus editor. ...

"Close to Home" comic creator John McPherson of Universal illustrated Chicken Soup for the Soul: Cartoons for Moms. ...

Andrews McMeel Publishing released three comic collections: With This Ring by "For Better or For Worse" creator Lynn Johnston of United Media, Why We'll Never Understand Each Other: A Non Sequitur Look at Relationships by Wiley Miller of Universal, and The Get Fuzzy Experience: Are You Bucksperienced by "Get Fuzzy" creator Darby Conley of United. ...

A "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" benefit for Women's eNews (http://www.womensenews.org) is being held May 20 in New York. ...

Marc DeLaurentis joined United as sales representative for under-25,000-circulation daily newspapers, as well as weekly and college papers.