Opinion - Whatcom View

POSTED: Saturday, Jun. 27, 2009

Changing cartoons bring changing reader reaction

We are currently receiving and publishing a lot of cartoons poking fun at President Obama and his stances on issues, and some readers are none too happy about it.

In the past few weeks I have received several phone calls and e-mails upset with some of the cartoons we publish. A few have threatened cancellation because they believe the cartoons reflect a bias from me, or this newspaper, against President Obama. Several have said that the cartoons prove our "conservative bias" and that we are just "parroting Fox News."

While I don't want anyone to cancel their subscription, of course, we aren't planning a change in our stellar lineup of national cartoonists. Our four cartoonists include three of the past four winners of the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Steve Breen, of the San Diego Union Tribune, won the Pulitzer this year. Michael Ramirez of Investors Business Daily won in 2008. Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution won in 2006.

The cartoonists we offer our readers are the best of the best.

That said, I agree that the cartoons have been pretty hard on President Obama since he took office. The cartoonists aren't harder on Obama than they were on President George W. Bush, in my opinion, but they are critical, and do poke fun.

In an email exchange with one reader who voiced concerns, I offered this explanation:

"Our stable of four editorial cartoonists is the same as it has been for at least two years. We publish cartoons from three of the last four Pulitzer Prize winners and try our best to balance viewpoints. Mr. Ramirez, whose cartoon upset you, won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning and is known as one of the best artists in the field as well as being a more conservative cartoonist. Mike Luckovich, who won the 2006 Pulitzer, tends to be our most liberal cartoonist.

"Yours is not the first comment I have heard along these lines, though, and I think it's possible that the change in administrations is changing how people view the cartoons.

"I would guess that roughly 40 percent of all of the cartoons we receive from our cartoonists have something to do with the President. In that past that meant cartoons about President Bush, many of them quite critical. Now that we have a new administration, we are seeing the same kind of sharp criticism aimed at President Obama.

"Though our cartoonists range across a political spectrum, I think the sitting president is always in line for lampooning.

"We don't edit any of the cartoons in any way. All of the cartoons from all four of our cartoonists are available on our Web site at TheBellinghamHerald.com/opinion. About 35 percent of those make it into the newspaper. The opinions expressed in the cartoons are those of the cartoonist only."

I'm interested to hear what you think. Are the cartoons we are publishing harder on President Obama than they were on President Bush? Are the opinions they espouse less educated now than they were in previous years?

Do you agree with my thought that the president, no matter the party, is always going to be in line for criticism through editorial cartoons? If that is correct, is it right?

I'd love to hear more feedback on this. Email me at scott.ayers@bellinghamherald.com with your thoughts.

Scott Ayers is an editor for The Bellingham Herald.