Here are our most reprinted cartoons of the week ending April 24th, 2021.
This was a week for conservatives as Gary McCoy took the top spot and Dick Wright had the most reprints overall for his combined cartoons. Congratulations to Dave Whamond and John Darkow who each have two cartoons in the Top Ten.
Just about half of America’s daily, paid circulation newspapers (around 700 papers) subscribe to CagleCartoons.com. These are the cartoons that editors picked last week.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers sink too, and along with them, our Cagle.com site.
Jeff Koterba takes second place with the first of three Mars helicopter cartoons in the Top Ten.
#3
Bruce Plante wins third place with another Mars helicopter.
#4
Dick Wright bashes the Democrats to claim fourth place.
#5
John Darkow takes the five spot with his first of two cartoons in the Top Ten.
#6
Dave Whamond takes sixth place with his first of two cartoons on the list.
#7
John Darkow nabs seventh place with his second cartoon on the list.
#8
Adam Zyglis takes eighth place with an Earth Day cartoon.
#9
Steve Sack from Minneapolis takes ninth place with the Chain trial verdict.
#10
Dave Granlund wraps up the list in tenth place with the third Mars helicopter cartoon.
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My buddy and star CagleCartoonist, Pulitzer winner Steve Sack, has been in the middle of the maelstrom in Minneapolis with the murder of George Floyd, the protests and the trial of killer cop Derek Chauvin. Here’s a select batch of Steve’s great cartoons from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers sink too, and along with them, our Cagle.com site.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
Newspaper editorial cartoonists love to draw president Trump! We make Trump fat. We give Trump a crazy, long, red tie, a bright, orange face and a grand swoop of yellow hair. Trump appears in editorial cartoons more than any other president, or anything else, has ever appeared in cartoons before. Just as Trump dominates the news on TV every night, he dominates political cartoons. Our problem is that newspaper editors don’t like publishing drawings of Trump.
I’m a cartoonist who runs a newspaper “syndicate” that distributes the work of about sixty of the top cartoonists from around the world to newspaper editorial page editors. Close to half of America’s approximately 1,400 daily, paid-circulation newspapers subscribe to my “package” service at CagleCartoons.com, where editors can pick what they like from a collection of up to twenty different cartoons on a single day. We have a broad range of political cartoons, reflecting a spectrum of content from liberal to conservative, across a range of issues, and editors are free to choose from any of it, with each cartoon presented in the same way. Subscribing editors choose to download high-resolution images of the latest cartoons to print in their papers, and I track the statistics of what the editors choose to download.
Since our our subscribing editors represent a very large and fairly random sampling of newspapers, I can safely project that the trends we see in editors’ choices are representative of all American newspapers, including those that subscribe to our competitors who offer a similar range of editorial cartoons in their syndicate packages. I don’t think anyone has ever tracked statistics like this before, and what the stats reveal about editors is surprising.
The most surprising thing the statistics reveal is that editors simply don’t want political cartoons that depict Trump. Sometimes, when Trump makes lots of news, the majority of the editorial cartoonists draw the president and editors still avoid the Trump cartoons.
The last cartoon depicting president Trump, that made our Top Ten cartoons of the week, was this one I drew of Trump and a looming COVID 19 wave, back in March.
I post a collection of the Top Ten most reprinted cartoons of the week, every week on my blog at DarylCagle.com. 20% of our cartoons get 80% of the reprints, and the Top Ten cartoons are by far the most reprinted. The last time a drawing of Trump made our Top Ten list was in March; it was a drawing I did of a tiny Trump who is oblivious to a giant wave of coronavirus that was about to hit him.
Most newspapers are small, rural or suburban newspapers in conservative areas; big city papers tend to be the liberal ones. Most cartoonists are liberal, and the conventional wisdom among cartoonists has been that conservative cartoonists are more widely reprinted because there are few conservative cartoonists and most, small and red state papers want conservative cartoons; recent stats show that this is all wrong. Even though we hear from conservative editors who complain that there aren’t enough conservative cartoons, editors from both liberal and conservative regions tend to select the same cartoons – funny cartoons about newsy topics that express little or no opinion. In fact, the more strongly an opinion is expressed in a cartoon, either liberal or conservative, the less likely editors are to choose to reprint the cartoon.
Editorial cartoonists have their own, macho culture. We like to draw strong cartoons that hit readers over the head with our point of view. We draw out of passion. We’re certainly not in the business for the money, so the choices editors make are very frustrating for us. Some strong metaphors can almost guarantee that a cartoon won’t be reprinted, no matter what the point the metaphor is used to make. Cartoonists, especially foreign cartoonists, like to draw blood in cartoons to represent terrible violence, they like images of the Ku Klux Klan to represent racism, and drawings of Hitler to depict a murdering, fascist tyrant; these cartoons rarely get reprinted.
American editors don’t like cartoons from foreign countries at all; conversely, foreign editors don’t like reprinting American cartoonists. The idea that cartoons are a “universal language” is a canard; editorial cartoons stop at national borders. Unless there is a huge foreign story involving America overseas, American editors don’t choose to reprint cartoons about foreign events even by American cartoonists.
New events find their way onto the Top Ten. We’ve had some cartoons on the Black Lives Matter protests and racist monuments show up on our Top Ten recently, but not as many as I’d like to see. There were many more images of Trump in cartoons that got ink in the early days of the administration.
What do editors like? Lately they like cartoons about the pandemic, with cartoons about families coping with shortages, masks, back to school, social distancing and sports topping the list. In normal times, editors prefer cartoons that comment on popular culture, celebrity schadenfreude, modern family dynamics, struggles with technology, the workplace and new trends.
The timid choices that newspaper editors make are disturbing enough to bring a tear to the eye of the Statue of Liberty.
This “back to school” cartoon I drew made #1 on our Top Ten list one week. This is typical of the type of cartoons editors prefer now.
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Tempers run short in turbulent times, so it is no surprise that provocative editorial cartoons sometimes get blowback from readers. Cartoons generate angry conversation on social media, but they seldom generate complaints to us, or to the newspapers that run them – unless there is an organized campaign to solicit complaints. These campaigns usually take the form of Facebook pages that demand that an editor or cartoonist is punished, or simply demands an apology, and newspapers are often quick to apologize.
The offending Antonio Antunes cartoon that lost a job for CagleCartoonist Patrick Chappatte, crushed a little syndicate and lost a top venue for all editorial cartooning as the New York Times banned cartoons.
Earlier this month there was yet another complaint campaign about a Gary McCoy cartoon in the Florence SC Morning News. This longtime CagleCartoons subscribing paper prints just about every cartoon that opposes abortion rights and there aren’t a whole lot of those, so when one pops up it is no surprise that it gets ink in Florence. The abortion topic doesn’t mix well with Black Lives Matter (I thought the cartoon was offensive myself) and the paper apologized, going the New York Times route of announcing that they are no longer running any editorial cartoons at all. They still like our columnist Michael Reagan though, so they continue to be a good subscriber and we hope to woo them back with more, great conservative cartoons. (Those anti-abortion cartoons are pretty hard to resist in Florence.)
There are more recent examples with cartoons from cartoonists who aren’t represented by my little syndicate generating complaints campaigns and newspaper apologies, but I’m not posting them here because, well, they aren’t represented by my little syndicate.
This is the new normal:
1. A reader is offended by a cartoon she disagrees with in her local newspaper and puts up a Facebook campaign soliciting complaints demanding an apology, the firing of the editor and/or the firing of the cartoonist.
2. The Newspaper apologizes for their poor choice of cartoon; or they stop running all cartoons. No other newspapers get complaints about the cartoon, only the one paper that has a campaigning reader gets complaints.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
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Here are the ten most widely published cartoons of the week (June 6-13, 2020). It is interesting to note that no drawings of President Trump have been among the most reprinted cartoons since one appeared in March. This was another week when cartoonists drew passionate cartoons criticizing the president that were ignored by editors. What cartoonists want to draw most is not what editors want to print. It is also rare that editors choose to print cartoons about Joe Biden. The reprint curve is steep with the most popular cartoons dominating the reprints and with most cartoons getting little ink. The foreign cartoonists were ignored by our subscribing, American editors again this week.
Our Top Ten is a measure of how many editors choose to reprint each of our cartoons, from the 63 cartoonists in our syndication package. Just about half of America’s daily, paid circulation newspapers subscribe to CagleCartoons.com.
Congrats to Dave Whamond for drawing the most reprinted cartoon this week. Kudos to Rick McKee who benefitted from a tie for the #10 spot, squeaking in with an impressive three cartoons on the list (the Top Eleven this week, because of the tie). Jeff Koterba has two cartoons on the list and special congratulations go to Pat Bagley and Peter Kuper who make their first appearances in the Top Ten this week. Dave Granlund, Steve Sack and RJ Matson round out the list of most reprinted cartoons this week. Great work, gentlemen!
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
The New Yorker’s and Mad Magazine’s “Spy vs Spy” cartoonist, Peter Kuper, takes 8th place.
#9
Pulitzer winner, Steve Sack, has the 9th most popular cartoon.
#10
Here’s Rick McKee’s third cartoon on the most reprinted list!
#10
Jeff Koterba is in a tie for the #10 spot with his second of two cartoons in the Top Ten (top eleven this week). Editors love Lincoln Memorial cartoons.
Originally from Australia, Oliver is a former journalist whose first assignment in Paris was to cover the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015. He would eventually move to Paris and launch The Earful Tower, which was recently featured in The New York Times as one of the best podcasts to travel by ear.
For those Cagle cartoonists who have attended the annual humor salons in St. Just, and have hung out together in Paris, this event might scratch that itch to return to France. And even if you haven’t been to France, this event promises to be a fun time. Plus, hey, you’ll get to see our buddy Jeff on your computer screen!
Oh, and not to worry—it’ll be presented in English. Although there’s always a chance that Oliver will throw in a French phrase or two.
Sponsored by Alliance Française Omaha, this event is free and open to all anywhere in the world! You can also pre-order Oliver’s book, although it’s not necessary to buy one to attend the event, which will be presented via Zoom.
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President Trump seems to be staking out his positions in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. As the saying goes, “not all conservatives are racists, but all racists are conservatives.” Trump is playing to the ugliest impulses of his base.
None of this is lost on the Cagle Cartoonists. Here are my favorite cartoons on Trump and race.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
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As we’re seeing new momentum to “defund the police” we’re also seeing new videos of terrible police brutality. The police horrors are damaging the police themselves, that’s the idea behind my cartoon for today.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
Please forward this link to your friends – tell them our Cagle.com email newsletters are FREE and FUN! They can join the newsletter list at Cagle.com/subscribe.
I watched George Floyd’s funeral on television today; it was moving and sad to watch. For my cartoon, I thought I would just reduce it to the fact that it was sad to watch. Editorial cartoonists like to complain about cartoons with big teardrops that are drawn with every sad, national event. The statue of Liberty with a big teardrop, the Lincoln Memorial statue with a big teardrop, Uncle Sam with a big teardrop, the American Eagle with a big teardrop. Readers respond to the teardrop cartoons even as cartoonists complain about them and continue to draw them.
So I went with an “everyman” couple watching the TV (which I draw often), this time with a mixed race couple and the teardrops. It may be unclear and too reductionist, and big teardrops may be trite, but I felt sad and I went with it.
Steve Sack’s cartoon is better.
Jeff Koterba went with a heart …
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
Here’s my latest cartoon about the media focus on looting along with my recent protest favorites from all of the CagleCartoonists. Passions are running high on the right and the left, which makes for some great cartoons and many angry readers who object to the cartoons, including my own cartoons. Many of the cartoons, like my cartoon today, are not likely to be reprinted in newspapers. Editors don’t like cartoons with poop and with criticism of other media.
My cartoon is about how looting steals the attention of the media, especially the conservative media, but all of the major media. Here’s are a bunch of great ones from the past couple of days.(I wouldn’t call my cartoon “great,” it is kind of stinky.)
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
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Here are some of my favorite cartoons about the ongoing protests. We see a big divide in the news coverage between Fox News and conservative media vs the rest of the media; we see the same divide with the conservative cartoonists drawing about law and order, and the rest of the cartoonists drawing about racial justice.
Please forward this link to your friends – tell them our Cagle.com email newsletters are FREE and FUN! They can join the newsletter list at Cagle.com/subscribe.
Our reader supported site, Cagle.com, still needs you! Journalism is threatened with the pandemic that has shuttered newspaper advertisers. Some pundits predict that a large percentage of newspapers won’t survive the pandemic economic slump, and as newspapers sink, so do editorial cartoonists who depend on newspapers, and along with them, our Cagle.com site, that our small, sinking syndicate largely supports, along with our fans.
