admindrawing an editorial cartoon comes from an idea or set of ideas.
Cartoonists get ideas from a number of sources, including newspapers, journals, television, internet, observation from society, family or personal experiences, dreams and ideas provided to them by others.
There is self-censorship at this stage, as artists choose what they may deem appropriate for the paper that carries their work. Subsequently, a number of supposedly “unfit” ideas are thrown out in favour of cartoons that conform to the publication’s set standards.
For cartoonists, simply being politically aware and in touch with current and topical news is not enough, because a newspaper has many stakeholders and associates that may be offended by how ideas are expressed or interpreted. A cartoonist would work on ideas that he or she feels, when developed into an editorial cartoon, may have the greatest chance of being published.
It may well be defined as part of the job, as brainstorming, but self-censorship exists nonetheless.
Even if some of the best ideas do not get published, it is imperative that those that find their way through to the news pages have the cartoonist’s input or direct approval. Regrettably some cartoonists have the tendency to use their creativity to sell other people’s messages, yet they could use their creativity to sell my own message.
In explaining why he or she leaves some ideas alone, multiple award-winning cartoonist David Horsey once remarked, “the current wave of sensitivity is undercutting and restraining vulnerable editorial comment”. This suggests that expectations of a wider audience are central to choice of ideas. But when filtering or funnelling ideas, the cartoonist is always acutely aware that someone else, the editor, has the final say as to whether the work gets published or not. And because every editor is different, cartoonists mould their ideas based on the likely reactions of the man or woman with the ultimate decision.
Consequently, the development of a cartoonist is partly determined by that relationship between the editor and the artist. The uneasy relationship that exists between the artist and the editor is well chronicled. Personalities or specific topics aside, there are intrinsic conflicts of interest between cartoonists and editors.
The problems are in part caused by the clash of professions, as a cartoonist who is primarily an artist, has to send his or her work to an editor, a trained journalist, for approval. Because editors are word people, they are more comfortable with words and the civilisation that language brings. The editors that most editorial cartoons like are those that see the cartoon as part the heart of the paper, prominently featured on the editorial page where the newspaper displays its sense of right or wrong. Taking the cartoon seriously does not necessarily mean that the editor and editorial cartoonist have to agree all the time.
Cartoonists that like to work with a high level of independence prefer their work to be tolerated but not necessarily endorsed by the paper. In the United States, in the mid-century period, editorial cartoonists, especially those working for partisan newspapers, were expected to hew closely not only to a party line but to the lead editorial. However, today in the states and most other counties cartoonists feel freer to produce the equivalent of an Op-Ed feature rather than simply reinforce their editor’s views or illustrate the daily headline.
That freedom means that bolder and more hard-line ideas are no longer just temporary habitats in the cartoonists’ head but are being developed and exhibited in newspapers as an extension of the artists’ line of reasoning.
Editorial cartoons’ strong messages, coupled with unflattering caricatures, do guarantee that at least one person depicted in the composition may have reservations. But American cartoonist Linda Boileau says “cartoons must have a bite to them, you’ve got to burn some ego, get the knife out now and then, because if you don’t, you’re just not worth your stuff”.
In other countries, notably the United Kingdom and in the US, independent cartoonists find it easier to produce their best work while working under other cartoonists or people with rich experience in the area for magazines such as ‘Mad’ or ‘Punch’.
Wherever they work, cartoonists find developing ideas rather easy as they gain more experience in their profession. When ideas are developed further into concepts and later into an image transferred to paper, the last challenge is the brief meeting with the editor.
Online Reporter