Dan Wasserman of 'Boston Globe' Talks About His Attention-Getting '23%' Cartoon

By: E&P Staff If you really want to draw attention to a critical issue at your newspaper, you'll want to turn to your political cartoonist.

Boston Globe political cartoonist Dan Wasserman, in response to his paper's vote to reject a plan that proposes significant wage cuts, played off parent company New York Times Co.?s plan to slash Globe salaries by 23% next week. Go here to see the cartoon.

Wasserman created an editorial cartoon from which 23 percent was cut -- simultaneusly cutting (and providing) the proper punchline.

Michael Cavna, at The Washinton Post?s ?Comic Riffs? blog, has a great interview with Wasserman, who has been a staple of the Globe's opinion pages since 1985.

?I don't like to do a lot of self-referential stuff, but when you do it, you might as well do it all out,? Wasserman tells Cavna. ?When you're staring at 23 percent [pay cut], that's a pretty big chunk of anything, especially if it's your livelihood. I thought: ?How do I represent this??

The cartoon, he adds, ?was a big hit around the city. And I got a lot of feedback from people all over the country, especially from people at newspapers affiliated with these struggles. It's [rewarding] when you produce something that resonates with people in a tough spot -- people in our own profession.?

Read the whole interview here.