Helen Thomas, Danish Editor, Panels at July AAEC Meeting

By: E&P Staff King Features Syndicate columnist Helen Thomas and Danish editor Flemming Rose, who published the controversial Muhammad cartoons, are among the people slated to speak at the July 4-7 Association of American Editorial Cartoonists convention in Washington, D.C.

AAEC President Rob Rogers also announced today that panels at the organization's 50th-anniversary meeting will focus on topics such as how Muslims and Americans cartoon about each other, the future of editorial cartooning at a time of many layoffs, cartooning about war, blogging, and the growing Web animation efforts of editorial cartoonists.

In addition, a July 3 event at which the public can meet and hear AAECers is tentatively scheduled in Washington.

Rogers, who does editorial cartoons for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and United Media, has also appointed Clay Bennett membership director of AAEC.

Bennett, cartoonist for The Christian Science Monitor and The Christian Science Monitor News Service, is immediate past president of the AAEC.