CSotD: Click Everything Today
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I've just finished making reservations to be at this symposium at the University of Minnesota next month, and I'll cover it here but, if you're anywhere within range, you'd do well to be there yourself.
The occasion, the 30th anniversary of the landmark Hustler v Falwell decision that brought the 1st Amendment into focus for editorial cartoonists, was the subject of a panel at the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists' annual convention, which I also covered, and, while Friday evening looks laid back, with cocktails and a single panel, Saturday is a very full schedule of panels, both on that case specifically and on political satire in general.
You should check out the webpage for a full lineup, but the cartoonists are Ann Telnaes, Ben Sargent, Pat Bagley, Jim Morin, Jack Ohman, Signe Wilkinson, Matt Wuerker, Cullum Rogers and Joel Pett, and the non-drawing types include Roslyn Mazer, the attorney who represented the AAEC in the fracas, and Jane Kirtley, a well-known voice for press freedom currently professing Media Ethics and Law at the University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
That page will also give you a link for tickets, which are free but necessary. I've got mine.
A symposium to which you need not travel:
And also on the topic of things which you are likely to enjoy, the Atlantic has an interesting piece on editorial cartooning that is a little scattershot, but in a good way: Sarah Boxer raises a number of issues without dwelling on any of them too long, giving it perhaps more width than depth, but that's okay.
Lots of quotes, lots of examples and a lot to think about and perhaps argue over.
Not "perhaps," which, aside from the general fun of a good discussion, is what makes it well worth the click.
Another chip off the Herblock
Under "neglected news" is the announcement that Ward Sutton has won the Herblock this year. I should have said so earlier but I'm saying it now so here's the official press release which includes quite a few examples of his work as well as links to where you can find him and his stuff.
Sutton also designed a "Resist" poster which he simply put out there for anyone to use, which is not only a nice Digger-like public service (and, yes, it would be possible for a conservative to create a "Preserve Privilege!" poster for opposition demonstrations) but provides a segue to my next observation.
Scattered Sunshine
It's Sunshine Week, and I wish it still had the energy it had when it first hit the scene, but John Cole has noted it and perhaps other major syndicated cartoonists have things about to hit before the end of the week.
If that sounds like damning with faint praise, it is, because when it first started, I was in the business of encouraging teachers to use the newspaper in class and, as seen in this 2005 feature, I embraced it fully, as did a lot of front-line cartoonists. I chose Ben Sargent's piece from a pretty solid selection.
But it ran out of energy and I don't really know why. They have updated their Tool Kit, but I suspect more cartoonists would have leapt aboard this year if they'd been approached, or approached earlier, and perhaps approached more insistently.
The topic of secrecy and openness have certainly been on everyone's minds: Clay Jones has a cartoon and column today on the specific topic of how keeping secrets endangers democracy, but he doesn't mention Sunshine Week and I'll bet he would have, had he been reminded.
And I'm still in the business of connecting kids and media, but our weekly publication was already filed when I saw the first pieces about the approach of Sunshine Week.
When I was in TV, our promotions director had a plaque over his desk that said: "Something terrible happens when you fail to promote: Nothing."
Maybe we'll see more cartoons as the week progresses. This is one time I'd really like to be proven wrong.
How the Other Half Still Lives
I'd hate to go out on such a Grinchlike note, so here's something really positive that's going on: Steve Breen has done a series of pieces on San Diego's homeless, and the Union-Tribune has some very solid coverage with this page as a good jumping off point that has a well-done two-minute video as an intro.
This is the sort of thing journalists should be doing, and I hadn't thought of it as a task for editorial cartoonists, but, then again, the Joe Sacco types have to work within whatever fan network they've carved out, while altie-spaces like the Nib are preaching to the converted.
Having a mainstream platform like the U-T is an opportunity that ought to be seized, and Breen's gentle, compassionate style not only doesn't shame the homeless for their plight but doesn't shame the reader for letting it happen.
He's just letting you know.
It's a tradition that goes back to Jacob Riis, who used the newly-improved technologies of photography in the late 19th century to let readers truly see "How the Other Half Lives," and helped to awaken an awareness of the need to clean up the slums and help the poor.
This is an example of what can happen when you do promote, because, in this case, the Union-Tribune has stepped up and not only had a cartoonist on staff, and not only freed him to pursue a project beyond the simple editorial page piece, but has then had the vision to recognize the value of his work both to the newspaper and to its community.
Who'da thunkit?
Here's a five minute piece from PBS Newshour about his project:
Let the sunshine in, indeed.
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