The Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism contest winners have been announced.  The editorial cartoonists who are taking home plaques this year are:

E&P has a pretty good behind the scenes story that was first reported by R.C. Harvey.  Is it goes, Mike Luckovich’s Reuben trophy did not arrive in Chicago in time for the award ceremony and so NCS organizers dropped back to plan ‘B’ – borrow a trophy from a previous award winner.

I’m a bit late with this, but E&P reported that Creators Syndicate has named three new vice presidents.  Marianne Sugawara is not now the vice president of operations, Melissa Lin is now vice president of business affairs, Kathy Kei is now vice president and editorial director, and Andrea Fryrear is the new operations manager.

From Universal Press comes news of several promotions within the company. Sue Roush has been promoted to VP of the syndicate; Kathie Kerr becomes assistant VP/communications; Cathy Kirkland will be assistant VP/digital services; Christina Craver becomes director/creative projects and Sarah DeCoursey will be director/licensing.

Okay, the title got you, but Dave Astor does make a pretty bold declaration in a recent column over at Editor and Publisher stating that Lynn Johnston’s For Better or For Worse is the best comic strip. Ever. Better than Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and other early features such as Little Nemo and Krazy Kat.

E&P is reporting that the National Cartoon Museum will received $1.8 million from the New York City Department of Culture Affairs and the city council.

Darrin Bell has mentioned on his blog that his feature, Candorville, along with eight other features are part of a comic survey at St. Paul Pioneer Press. Readers are encouraged to vote for their favorite and can vote once a day.

The Akron Beacon Journal has announced that it will cut 25% of its staff – approximately 40 people to “align costs with revenues.”  Chip Bok, their editorial cartoonist, says he’s not one of them, but two other artists will be losing their jobs.  One such artist is Rick Steinhauser who has expressed interest in inking cartoons. If you’re aware of any opportunities contact Chip through his blog.

Phi Frank, who draws Farley, one of the few local comic strips left in the U.S., will be the featured speaker at the Yosemite Association’s 31st annual member’s meeting on September 9th at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center in Wawona, Yosemite National Park.  He will also be on hand to sign books and sell original drawings.

For the last 13 years, Jefferson City News Tribune editorial cartoonist Jim Dyke has spent his vacation hours doing caricatures at the Missouri State Fair – for the change in pace and to meet and greet news people.

For those who are not familiar with Farley, here is the wikipedia entry for the feature and artist:Farley is a American comic strip written and drawn by Phil Frank, appearing daily (except Saturday) in the San Francisco Chronicle.  The strip originally began in 1975 as Travels With Farley, a nationally syndicated strip, but missing the “timeliness and joy of doing local politics” and dissatified with the four-to-six week lead time required of syndication, switched to working exclusive for the Chronicle, enabling him to quickly mine local events — usually overnight — for his satire.Phil collaborates on The Elderberries with Joe Troise.

Ted Rall is celebrating 10 years of syndication with Universal Press where he draws cartoons for over 140 newspapers and also produces a weekly column.

The Daily American (PA) is asking readers to rate the comics. The online article didn’t mention which features they currently run, but listed a few that are not in the current line up that might be picked up if survey results are good:  Lio, Non Sequitur, The Pajama Diaries, Stone Soup, and Zits.

For those who are unable to make it to the “This Inking Life” cartoon exhibit can head over to Mike Lynch’s blog where he’s posted photos of the exhibit.

Last week, I reported that the 60+ year old comic Mary Worth was getting some attention with a new story line of a potential stalker named Aldo. E&P points out that a humorous video called “Aldo Stalks Mary Worth.” It reminds me of the Benny Hill closing credits, but humorous none the less.