If you follow the editorial cartooning scene at all these days, you’ve no doubt heard about the string of layoffs, buyouts and resignations that have been occurring. First off, the great Don Wright accepted a buyout from the Palm Beach Post, one of 300 employees to do so. Then, Dick Adair of the Honolulu Advertiser had his position eliminated. Finally, News and Observer cartoonist Dwane Powell resigned rather than be forced to take a part-time position.
It all just underlines what dire straits the newspaper industry is in these days. You’d think, as this article suggests, that having a solid cartoonist on their staff might be an added draw, but most papers are bleeding so badly right now they can’t even stop to consider such a notion.
