THE THIRD RAIL OF THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

We’ve been watching the slow death of staff positions for editorial cartoonists for months, and now a new danger looms. This niche is about cartooning in all its print venues. Hence, our interest in the future of newspaper journalism. An interest suddenly turned to anxiety: the Times-Union in Jacksonville Florida, announced on December 14 that it intends to drop eight comic strips daily and Sunday. Said Jeff Reece: “Financial realities are forcing us to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. The next step might be the hardest — and least popular — of all the adjustments we have had to make: cutting comic strips. ... The comics page is known as the third rail of the newspaper industry,” Reece continued. “No editor in his right mind will touch the comics unless it is absolutely necessary. We don't want to make our readers unhappy. But economic realities make this necessary.” What are the economics? Figuring that the average comic strip costs a newspaper $15 a week for dailies, ditto for Sundays (a very conservative estimate), a newspaper can cut expenses by $1,560 a year if it drops one syndicated strip from its line-up. And if the Times-Union drops eight strips, that’s $12,480 a year in savings.

In actuality, the savings will be greater: probably some of the eight strips will be the more popular ones with fees much higher (perhaps three or four times higher) than our average $15/week/Sunday. Annual savings for the Times-Union could be $35,000-50,000 —“Real money,” as Ev Dirkson used to say. “Eliminating eight comics brings the kind of savings we needed,” said Reece. “It’s painful but necessary.” The paper will give its readers a chance to vote on a list that’s made up of more than a dozen strips, some of which finished in the bottom half of a recent readership survey and a couple of which, newly added to the line-up, received “an unusual amount of criticism from readers.” Another strip that’s a candidate for dropping is For Better or For Worse, a candidate because, Reece said, “it’s essentially in re-runs.” Reece doesn’t think any of the eight strips will ever return once they’ve been dropped.

There you have it: my worst nightmare looming on the southeastern edge of the continent. Before long, other papers will surely follow suit: after firing a superfluous editoonist, trimming the comic strip line-up to the bone is the next best way to save money. One of the Times-Union readers, responding to Reece’s announcement, said it best: “Obviously, no one at the T-U gives a shit about their own comics survey or their own web site. Pathetic. Let the paper die. It’s no wonder.” Extreme, maybe, but not far from my own sentiment.