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John R. Finnegan SR

You cannot overestimate the importance of a local cartoonist. They focus on the basic issues facing a community often making lighthearted commentary on serious issues which spark a reaction among readers. They can have a much greater impact on readers than an editorial or an editorial column. It is sad that they are a disappearing breed.

Jim Finnegan

I used to love seeing Jerry Fearing doing the local angle editorial cartoons in the Pioneer Press. A very talented artist, he nailed the caricatures of our local politicians and celebrities. He was a very big influence in my choice of careers (graphic arts). I felt closer to the local issues that the paper covered when an editorial cartoon was involved. Today, local editorial cartoons are relegated to the covers of the smaller weekly papers, monthly magazines, blogs and newsletters. Our two city dailies in the Twin Cities are no longer under local ownership and don't feel any real connection to the local scene. They just seem to regurgitate stories off the wire and local staffs have been cut.

Technology and the electronic media has actually given a voice to the political satirist and cartoonists in the form of animated shows (The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, Adult Swim). That could be an entire dissertation by itself.

Don't forget to check out the brilliant work of Thomas Nast.

caraf

Oh, I LOVE Thomas Nast. So nasty and so visually complex. Next year when I teach my U.S. visual history grad seminar we're going to spend time with his work.

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