Some of the major syndicates include Universal Uclick, King Features, The Washington Post Writers Group, Creators Syndicate, and the Cagle Post Cagle Cartoons.* The Washington Post Writer’s Group was one of the few syndicates to respond to an interview request from CJR, and Amy Lago, the comics editor, says in the competitive syndicate market, it’s not easy to increase fees on newspapers. “Typically they’ll come back and say, ‘not only can I not afford your rate increase, but my circulation has dropped,’” says Lago, which usually means a lower rate request based on their now-decreased circulation. She says for a number of years they did not propose an annual increase, but decided to up it an “insignificant amount” in 2011 and 2012 (she says by one or two percent). “We know what newspapers are up against financially, and we’ve been wanting to support them,” says Lago. Business clients are made up almost entirely of newspapers, and while they do have some websites that subscribe, “they tend to pay very little because they don’t really have the budgets,” says Lago.
Cagle Cartoons is run by cartoonist Daryl Cagle, and he said the same about his business: “We make our living from print. That’s still the culture of people that pay their bills.” He started Cagle Cartoons in late 2000, and was inspired by his own frustration with trying to sell his work, both through a syndicate and on his own. Now, about 850 newspapers—about half the newspapers in the United States—either subscribe to Cagle Cartoons or have opted to pay per use. He says individual cartoonists have been losing out to syndicate pricing for decades now. “It was 30 years ago that prices got driven down,” says Cagle, and finds that packages are what most news organizations are interested in. “I would love for people to just buy my cartoons, but the best way to do this is work with other cartoonists.”
The proprietors of YubaNet, a two-person news operation covering California’s Sierra region, count a subscription to Cagle Post as one of their most important investments. Pascale Fusshoeller, the site’s editor, says that the cartoon section draws consistently high traffic numbers “every single day.” “If the cartoons aren’t up by 7 am, I get e-mails or calls like, ‘Hey, there is no cartoon today,’” says Fusshoeller. “Some people are very attached. They start their day with these cartoons.”
Other cartoonists choose to self-syndicate rather than sign with a third party. Mark Fiore, who won a Pulitzer in 2010 for his animated political cartoons, says he was syndicated with Universal Uclick for a few years, but felt “they’re no better at it than I am.” Instead, he chose to “pound the pavement” to sell his own work. Now, he collects advertising revenue from his website and his YouTube channel. “In a way, YouTube is a syndicate for me; they are selling the ads, and getting my work out there.” There’s no way to undercut syndicates, says Fiore, “unless you’re selling it for pennies,” so cartoonists have to find a way to offer something unique from what the syndicates offer. “The syndicates are cartooning’s best friends and worst enemy,” says Fiore, but to break free from that, “You’ve got to figure out the hustle.”
Tom Meyer worked self-syndication into his survival strategy after accepting a buyout from the San Francisco Chronicle in 2009. Rather than doing locally focused pieces, like he often did for the Chronicle, he started focusing on topics that would interest a California-wide audience so he could sell them around the state. “I have to be really conscious of the stories I’m commenting on. I can’t really do something about the San Francisco mayoral race because that’s not something my LA readers will care about,” says Meyer.
One of the sites that’s purchasing Meyer’s cartoons is California political news and opinion site Calbuzz. Phil Trounstine, former political editor of the San Jose Mercury News and co-founder of Calbuzz, says the cartoons enrich the site, and are an affordable investment. “You can say things with a cartoon that would take you a very long time to write, so it’s space well used,” says Trounstine.
I founded and run the Cartoonist Group and we work with 50 leading cartoonists, including eight winners of the Pulitzer Prize. We also have a subsidiary site devoted exclusively to editorial cartoons. We are fortunate to work with Amy Lago and her colleagues at the Writers Group and with other leading syndicates. The comments below pertain to digital media — not to newspapers as this is one of the syndicates' areas of expertise, not ours. Additionally, we are speaking only for ourselves — not for the cartoonists or syndicates with which we work.
The report of the Herb Block Foundation arrives at an opportune time, when the initial strategies for cartoonists to adapt to the web have been proven to be unproductive — if not detrimental — and when the next strategies are not yet completely clear. As the report also suggests, as newspaper revenue for cartoonists declines, revenue from alternative sources will be increasingly important in cartoonists' ability to make a living from cartooning.
In this time of uncertainty, two things are evident:
1. It makes no sense to compete primarily on price in the growing digital market. Furthermore, the strategy pursued by some cartoonists of trading exposure for profits in merchandise may work for a limited number of cartoonists but it is not a viable strategy for the majority of cartoonists.
2. Cartoonists who participate in this race to the bottom in the pricing for digital media are working against their own self-interest — and they are dragging all other cartoonists there with them.
Of course, most cartoonists don't sell their own work. Others do. So, there needs to be a meeting of minds on pricing — and an understanding of its importance. Editors should be a part of this discussion.
The sad truth is that at a time when society is becoming increasingly visual, one of the most effective tools for grabbing readers' and users' attention is under duress — some of its own making. We are at a point when the long-term implications of this have been masked because there are so many good cartoonists still working — sometimes by becoming entrepreneurial as Dan Perkins' efforts indicate.
It may be hyperbolic to suggest that editorial cartoons will disappear — but it is clear that the current path is unsustainable for a large number of cartoonists. To change the path will require a large number of cartoonists, marketers, and content purchasers to value cartoons in the best sense of the word.
#1 Posted by Sara Thaves, CJR on Thu 16 Feb 2012 at 02:21 PM
Good to read a long piece on editorial cartooning in the CJR. You might be interested in this post of mine, titled .'Daryl Cagle and the Survival of Cartoon Journalism", published on The Comics Grid.
#2 Posted by Ernesto Priego, CJR on Thu 16 Feb 2012 at 04:05 PM
Not a big fan or Rall or Perkins (which is fine, to each his own), but I sympathize with their plight. Cartoonists are the canary in the coal mine and everyone else (journos, papers) is already choking to death.
One thing for sure - the solution has to be led by the cartoonists themselves. Nobody else is going to solve this for them.
Kudos to Alysia Santo for focusing on this, and good luck to everyone in figuring it all out.
#3 Posted by JLD, CJR on Mon 20 Feb 2012 at 06:50 AM
A while ago the Sunday New York Times stopped carrying its "best political cartoons of the week" feature. I always assumed it was a cost-cutting move, though I can't believe they had to pay much for day-old cartoons. Now they have a fairly inept strip, presumably at considerable savings.
Anybody with any inside knowledge of these developments?
#4 Posted by anotherbozo, CJR on Mon 20 Feb 2012 at 11:22 AM
"One thing for sure - the solution has to be led by the cartoonists themselves. Nobody else is going to solve this for them."
I agree in one way but cartoonists are not the one's a power or even in a position to have control. If it were they could demand higher rates. Sadly they can not.
Editorial illustration is suffering the same fate. MAny times illustrators are asked to work for a very very low fee. When they bring up that they can not work for that price art directors look for a cheaper one. Sad.
#5 Posted by tjmourke, CJR on Fri 24 Feb 2012 at 04:57 PM