- Big Spring Shakeup
The month of May found four newspaper editorial cartoonists leaving their
jobs, two voluntarily, two not so much.
1) Editorial cartoonist Dave Granlund, who had worked at MetroWest Daily News
in Massachusetts for 31 years, was suddenly laid off by owner GateHouse Media
Inc.
"I was let go because of the money aspect of it," Granlund told Jessica Heslam
at the Boston Herald. "This came out of left field. This was unexpected. We
had gone through a series of other cuts a number of weeks ago. We thought the
dust had settled."
Granlund said he's been a cartoonist for many years and will try to roll with
the punches. "Somewhere out there, there's someone that can see the usefullness
for having a cartoonist, especially in these dire times -- it's always nice
to have a little levity to spread around," he said. Granlund was let go briefly
in 2001 when Herald Media Inc. owned the newspaper but was hired back after
nine
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- Recent Awards
Clay Bennett is this year's recipient of the Thomas Nast Award for best cartoons
on international affairs from the Overseas Press Club of America. Presented
at the organization's 69th annual award banquet, Bennett, now the cartoonist
for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, was recognized for a portfolio of work
published in his previous newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor. This is
Bennett's second Nast Award, having received his first in 2005. The runner-up
citation went to Mike Luckovich, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Accepting
the award, Bennett said, "I accept this honor not as any recognition of artistic
talent, nor as a testament to any inherent wit or wisdom. I accept this award
as a tribute to my neurotic insecurity and the obsessive work ethic it inspires."
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Signe Wilkinson has been awarded this year's Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award
for editorial cartooning. Regarding The Daily News'
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- New in Print
Cartoonist Jim Knudsen, 84, and a member of the AAEC since 1960, has published
his autobiography. Titled "Off I Went Into the Wild Blue Yonder," it
chronicles his experiences growing up in Montana during the depression and
serving as a pilot during WWII. "I was a twin engine instructor, a B-17
pilot and was in line to bomb Japan as first pilot on a B-29 when the war ended," said
Knudsen. Published by Pelican Publishing, "Off I Went Into the Wild Blue
Yonder" is available through Amazon.com.
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Keith Knight launched a new daily newspaper strip in May. "The Knight Life"
follows Knight's long-running, 2007 Harvey Award-winning weekly comic strip
"The K Chronicles." An unabashedly provocative political and social satire,
"The Knight Life" tackles contemporary issues like consumer culture, bacon,
the media, race, family and everything else. "The Knight Life"
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- Commodore exhibit to run throughout 2008
The Chicago Public Library is showcasing a free exhibition titled "Chester
Commodore, 1914-2004: The Work and Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist of Color," which
will run through Dec. 31, 2008. The show is in the exhibit gallery at Carter
G. Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Halsted Street.
The exhibit opened on May 24 and featured family, colleagues and friends of
Chester Commodore, as well as scholars who placed Commodore's work in the context
of African American journalism. Tim Jackson, current editorial cartoonist for
the Chicago Defender was one of the speakers at the opening.
The exhibit includes more than 125 items selected from the Chester Commodore
Papers, including original cartoons, photographs, letters, awards and other
memorabilia. The exhibit will also offer additional material to provide a historical
context on the social events depicted in Commodore's cartoons and by other
African American cartoonists.
Chesterfield
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- Contest Deadline Approaches
The deadline for the 3rd annual cartoon contest from the Union of Concerned
Scientists is June 11.
Amateur and professional artists are welcome to submit cartoons that address
the abuse of science in general or highlight one or more of the ways in which
science has been misused; the consequences of political interference in science;
or solutions to restore scientific integrity to federal policy making. For
contest rules and submission guidelines, go to: http://www.ucsusa.org/scienceidol.
That deadline again is June 11.
The judges for this year's contest include "Speed Bump" creator
Dave Coverly, Kevin Kallaugher of The Economist, "Non-Sequitur" creator
Wiley Miller, Mike Keefe of the Denver Post, Signe Wilkinson of the Philadelphia
Daily News, and graphic designer Jesse Springer, winner of last year's contest.
"The absurdity of political
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