Cartoonist No Longer With Pa. Paper

By: Dave Astor Editorial Cartoonist Dennis Draughon is no longer with The Scranton (Pa.) Times.

Draughon, who joined the newspaper in 1989, could not be reached for comment. Larry Beaupre, managing editor of the Times and The Tribune of Scranton, said Draughon resigned "to pursue other interests." When asked today if the resignation was voluntary or requested, Beaupre declined to comment.

Beaupre did say that another editorial cartoonist will be hired to replace Draughon, who is 42, according to a bio still posted on ScrantonTimesTribune.com.

The award-winning Draughon is one of a number of editorial cartoonists who have resigned, been laid off, taken a buyout, or been reassigned to another position during the past 18 months. Among them are Kirk Anderson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Mike Lane of The Sun in Baltimore, Gary Markstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and John Sherffius of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Over the past decade, the number of staff cartoonists has decreased significantly as a number of daily newspapers sliced costs and/or decided not to run visual commentary that might anger powerful interests.