Comments on: Can comics save the American newspaper?

By: Dawn Douglass

Dawn Douglass — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:47:21 +0000

Pranav,

You should definitely add lots of comics to your newspaper. India has consistently been a top market for mobile comic images and strips. Comics will be well appreciated there.

Not to be insulting, but Indian cartoonists are still learning the craft. If you want the really good cartoons that can keep readers coming back (and also be good examples and inspiration for your local talent), I suggest you contact Atlantic Syndication.

Just write to Kristin Norell (that’s a woman, in case you aren’t familiar with the name): knorell@atlanticsyndication.com

She can show you a number of comic features to choose from, tell you how much they will cost, and answer any questions you have.

Good luck getting to be #1! Comics will certainly help!

By: pranav gupta

pranav gupta — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:28:20 +0000

this is pranav from india and i recently joined a newspaper in india. i m workin in marketing department and our newspaper is 3rd most popular in chennai region. i want 2 incresa d circulation of d paper. comics concept seems gud. can u people throw sum more light on it or suggest any other strategies

By: Rod McKie

Rod McKie — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:17:11 +0000

I have always argued that it is possible that this can go either way. The people who run newspapers are as thick as mince, but they understand money. Just now, they fight for readers with products they give away that are LESS carbon neutral than printed pages.

Adertisers will go, in Scotland the Scottish Parliament and all the local authorities are withdrawing their advertising from the national press (something that the Wisenheimers strangely think will never affect them in the US and Canada – think again), some Â£62m per annum, and using their own websites to recruit and advertise their services. This is a sea-change that will impact greatly here. And then I would imagine further afield as other local government agencies the world over look for savings.

When the adverts go, they might come back or be filled by new business, so the spaces may close or remain open. If they remain open the cheapest way to fill them is with cartoons and comic strips. That is possible. What is also possible is that real competition for readers will begin and the tired old strips that only the old reliable readership, that no longer attracts advertisers, once insisted on seeing in their papers will disappear, to be replaced by new and exciting and relevent comics.

Either that, or the newspapers will cut costs as advertisers go and drop the comics like so many hot bricks. It can go either way, I think. So, it’s best to be prepared.

By: Krishna Sadasivam

Krishna Sadasivam — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:33:46 +0000

There’s a catch 22. The newspaper circulation numbers are dwindling and have been since the Internet started to pick up steam. The newspapers are increasingly catering to an older demographic – many folks in their 20s, 30s, and even early 40s are seeking their news information online.

The newspapers don’t want to alienate their core readership, so that’s why I believe the same strips (Peanuts Classic, anyone?) and a host of other staples (Blondie, B.C., etc.) are still there.

I’m not sure that adding newer comics (well written or not) will actually do anything to increase circulation numbers for any newspaper here in the US.

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:32:25 +0000

Dan, The newspaper should note that PEANUTS Fantagraphic books are required to read the punchlines.

By: Charles Brubaker

Charles Brubaker — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:26:23 +0000

>>a local N.C. sunday paper I read has been running Peanuts for the past month with just the â€œthrow away top rowâ€ and only the second row of the strip, NOT the 3rd row that has the punchline. I think Iâ€™m the only one that noticed.

Wow. The Nashville Tennessean printed Peanuts just like that once, although they never did that again (obviously an error from the paper’s part).

By: KRANKY (JOE RANK)

KRANKY (JOE RANK) — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:02:46 +0000

Remember how the front page above the fold used to feature the editorial cartoon?
With the advent of advanced photography, that changed.
Perhaps some enterprising, independent editor and/or publisher would recognize the utility of featuring a comic on the front page, as a teaser. They could even rotate them, so as not to favor particular cartoons.

Just an idea.

By: Dan Thompson

Dan Thompson — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:17:50 +0000

a local N.C. sunday paper I read has been running Peanuts for the past month with just the “throw away top row” and only the second row of the strip, NOT the 3rd row that has the punchline. I think I’m the only one that noticed.

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:54:04 +0000

Along with creating a GOOD strip, the greater importance is in creating GREAT characters that readers will want to visit on a daily basis. Charles Schulz once said people don’t remember jokes, the remember the characters!

By: Malc McGookin

Malc McGookin — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:28:34 +0000

Yes, comics can save newspapers but not necessarily the comics presently in them. Only about 10% of existing comics deserve to be there, in my opinion, as they are the only ones people actively seek out and read.

The rest are there merely to occupy and preserve their syndicate’s shelf space.

Also, newspapers have lost their soul. They don’t have any individuality, in fact they don’t even look like serious papers, more like the freesheets you have thrown on your lawn twice a week.