Editorial Cartoonists Vow to Hold Conference Despite Tough Times

By: Joe Strupp Despite other media conventions being cancelled this year, such as the Magazine Publishers of America and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is vowing to go forth with their July gathering in Seattle, according to AAEC President Ted Rall.

Even if the sponsoring local newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, ceases to exist, the convention will be held.

Rall made made the statement in a release the same day that New York Times media columnist David Carr criticized other media groups for canceling their events in tough economic times, writing "good idea: let?s not talk to one another."

"There has never been a more important time to come together and discuss the economic, technological and demographic challenges confronting journalism," Rall, who is also a syndicated editorial cartoonist for Universal Press Syndicate, stated in an announcement.

AAEC's release also proclaimed: "Despite the loss of over a dozen staff political cartoonist jobs in the last year alone and the imminent closure of the sponsoring newspaper for this year's AAEC convention, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the AAEC is pressing on with its plans to hold its convention in Seattle on July 1-4."

Rall added in the release that, "This year's event will be a serious, working convention."

AAEC officials said panelists and speakers will discuss "the future of syndication, animated editorial cartoons, how cartoonists can thrive after losing staff jobs, the growing world of graphic novels, and how to brand themselves and the work they do for newspapers using social networking sites, and other topics related to moving cartoons and newspapers forward."

The 2009 convention will also feature the association's second "Cartoonapalooza," an event where tickets will be available to the public. Seattle residents will be invited to hear, meet and exchange ideas with the nation's top cartoonists at the city's historic Town Hall. "The public loves editorial cartoons and it loves newspapers," said Rall. "We have to figure out how to re-monetize that relationship in the digital age."