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Political Cartoons No Longer Front and Center

Power of the pen left behind in 20th century

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 1, 2008 8:26 PM CST
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(Newser) – Political cartoons remain, but they lost front page power and heft long ago, says U.S. News & World Report. Cartoonists like Thomas Nast could once sway elections—Ulysses S. Grant credited Nast's pencil to helping him win the presidency—but the ranks of full-time pen-and-paper satirists have thinned to less than 100 today, compared to 2,000 a century ago.

The rise of photography and television in the 20th century spelled doom for most newspaper and magazine cartoonists, but in their Victorian heyday they wielded unique power. "Nast was working in a media environment with virtually no other images,” said Economist cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher.

This handout photo provided by the Pulitzer Prize Board shows a cartoon by Newsday's Walt Handelsman. Handelsman was honored with the Pulizer Prize for editorial cartooning, Monday, April 16, 2007. (AP Photo)
This handout photo provided by the Pulitzer Prize Board shows a cartoon by Newsday's Walt Handelsman. Handelsman was honored with the Pulizer Prize for editorial cartooning, Monday, April 16, 2007. (AP...   (Associated Press)
A cartoon by Italian cartoonist Vauro shows the Three Wise Men climbing a wall topped with barbed wire to reach Bethlehem in which the writing in the cartoon bubble reads Come on guys, we are almost there!, is seen during an exhibit for human rights backed by the United Nations...
A cartoon by Italian cartoonist Vauro shows the Three Wise Men climbing a wall topped with barbed wire to reach Bethlehem in which the writing in the cartoon bubble reads "Come on guys, we are almost...   (Associated Press)
A cartoon by American cartoonist Ann Telnaes is seen during an exhibit for human rights backed by the United Nations in Rome, Monday, Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A cartoon by American cartoonist Ann Telnaes is seen during an exhibit for human rights backed by the United Nations in Rome, Monday, Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)   (Associated Press)
Garry Trudeau covers his face while laughing as he speaks to students at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt., Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Garry Trudeau covers his face while laughing as he speaks to students at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt., Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)   (Associated Press)
Garry Trudeau gestures as he speaks to students at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt., Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Garry Trudeau gestures as he speaks to students at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt., Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)   (Associated Press)
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Associated Press

 
newspaper • politics • John F. Kennedy • presidential politics • Richard Nixon • magazine • editorial cartoons • Doonesbury • Abraham Lincoln • Thomas Nast • Ulysses Grant • Gary Trudeau

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