The April issue of the
Santa Cruz Comic News slid through the mail slot at home last week, courtesy of my son, and with it arrived some riveting analysis of the crisis facing American newspapers.
The best of it comes from Don Asmussen, who produces the
Bad Reporter cartoon for the
San Francisco Chronicle and Universal Press Syndicate (the latter a previous employer of mine). I followed up with some questions for him by e-mail. Here's an edited transcript.
Bill Mitchell: How's business?Asmussen: Well, several papers I was syndicated in no longer exist, so it's going gangbusters. At this point, I'm even trying to get my strip into fictional newspapers like
The Daily Planet. I haven't heard back.
Can you walk us through the parrot poop cartoon? You got the idea how?
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Don Asmussen/used with permission
Published 3/27/2009, sfgate.com |
Asmussen: Well, I've been working with lots of "newspapers dying" jokes over the last month. I decided that all the dire economy/store closing were good news for us because the empty stores all needed newspapers to cover their windows. So if more stores continue to close, I think we'll be all right just on those sales alone. Also, as a gag about the Drudge business model, I had some fat guy just physically standing in front of the actual
NY Times building, pointing at it and raking in advertising on his T-shirts. A live linker.
After those ideas, all I had left were poop jokes, hence the parrot cage gag. After two good jokes, I usually only have a poop joke left. So with poop, it was either dogs or parrots, and since I already had
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Universal Press Syndicate
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some Obama's Bo jokes, I went with parrots. I'm the Noah's Ark of political cartoons. And about three days after my strip ran, "The Colbert Report" used the same gag when
introducing Phil Bronstein. So, maybe somebody there reads my stuff.
Reaction from your editors to that cartoon? From your readers?Asmussen: I think the gallows in everyone made them laugh. No one hit me, and I wasn't offered a buyout. So I guess they thought it was funny.
SF Chronicle Exec Editor Ward Bushee gives me a lot of freedom, I must confess. I have no censorship problems.
Can you describe your work routine?
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Don Asmussen/used with permission
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Asmussen: I get in, read
NY Times,
SF Chronicle and
Us Weekly. Look online for any last minute Alex Rodriguez updates, and then write 10 jokes, 3 of which are hopefully funny. Then I read my hate mail for several hours.
What hardware and software are you using?Asmussen: I use a Mac, Freehand 8 (old program), Photoshop and Illustrator. Also pencil and ink if I draw a panel, which I can also do. Sometimes photos are funnier, depends on the joke.
How many papers and/or sites buy Bad Reporter via syndication?
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Don Asmussen/used with permission
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Asmussen: I have no clue, but it ain't a lot because of the shrinking news holes and the size of the strip itself, plus the closing papers. It's offered in 6 col and 3 col format, but we may start offering them a panel at a time, too, which might be better for some papers and help me get a few more eyeballs. Something, anything.
Now -- Internet-wise -- I show up on tons and tons of blogs. FOR FREE. So plenty of people are seeing me. Just not BUYING me. Ugh.
You do one cartoon per week of national interest, and one more focused on San Francisco. Which arena is providing the richer material for you these days?
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Don Asmussen/used with permission
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Asmussen: Two strips per week, which equals six gags (somewhat similar to the standard political cartoonist's six or seven jokes per week spread over seven cartoons. I just bunch them together in threes and run twice per week, plus extra strips or drawings in other parts of the paper. Regarding national/local, I do 2 national per week always, but do a separate third one for local issues when needed. I do a lot of swapping jokes in and out when big local issues break. It also helps that SF is in the national news all the time, due to gay marriage and Gavin Newsom.
As we approach the 100-day mark of the Obama administration, how is this president measuring up to his predecessor as a target for your work?
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Don Asmussen/used with permission
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Asmussen: All political cartoonists miss Bush. It's hard to find a president (or VP) like that. But Obama's "cool" thing is really starting to get annoying. Also, all the merchadise available with Obama's face and "Hope" and "Change" and crap like that, before he's really done anything. I also hate how Hollywood is embracing him. Celebrities, ugh. I hate how young people think he's the greatest president ever, already. I think my natural dislike for popular people and hipsters will help me through this.
How's the future of journalism looking to you? Both in terms of material -- and as a way to pay the bills.Asmussen: Material? Awesome. The cockiness of bloggers, the craziness of the GOP, the overconfidence of the left. Tea Parties, for crying out loud! Awesome. Paying bills? Not so much.
Anything else? Asmussen: Please ask my clients to stop closing.
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Don Asmussen/used with permission
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