Opinion - Top opinion

POSTED: Sunday, Jul. 05, 2009

Cartoon column draws a wide array of reactions.

It was a real fun week to be opinion editor at The Bellingham Herald.

Readers responded in large numbers to Sunday, June 28, column about how many complaints I have been receiving about our cartoonists. In addition, a national journalism blog picked up and linked to the column online, I guess because they thought it fascinating that cartoons about President Obama were drawing so many complaints.

I have learned a lot from your responses to the column. First, people are passionate about editorial cartoons. I received more e-mail about the column than any column I have written for The Bellingham Herald since I became opinion editor back in 2004.

Second, it appears that humor and satire, like beauty, is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Of the 40 or so e-mails I have received (others called) the most strident responses came from those who were most offended by the cartoons - or those most offended by the offense at the cartoons.

Folks who consider themselves supporters of President Obama, said that the cartoons now are occasionally offensive, but mostly just "unswerving in catering to the disgruntled disbelievers (conservatives)."

Some who consider themselves critics of the current president and fans of President Bush said the treatment Obama is getting in cartoons now has "been gentle and sarcastic at worst, compared to the frequently savagely dehumanizing hostile attacks on his predecessor."

But I'm happy to report most people seem to understand the rationale behind our decision to run cartoonists from all sides of the political spectrum. We even have a few fans: "I think you are doing a great job and I have not seen any 'blatant' favoritism of one political party over another by you or by the paper ... My husband and I greatly enjoy reading the opinion page and the cartoons and it is the first thing we read when opening the paper."

That's enough to make an opinion page editor smile.

But seriously, I appreciate the feedback - from critics and from those less critical.

It's important to me, and the other members of the editorial board, that we are well-informed about the community we live in. We only get that way by talking to a lot of people and learning about a lot of perspectives. The conversations I have been engaged in about cartoons the past couple weeks have helped me better understand who reads this paper, and what those readers believe. There are a lot of you out there, with a lot of different opinions. I am always grateful when you take the time to share those with me.

We run cartoons to provoke thought. We don't "edit" them. The viewpoints expressed are those of the cartoonist and those cartoonists often use satire in order to make their point. All of the cartoons from the four syndicated cartoonists we pay for are available on our Web site, including ones that do not make it into the print newspaper.

Unfortunately, not everyone was very happy with my explanation last week of how we choose our cartoons, and my defense of the syndicated cartoonists we choose as "the best of the best." My citing of their record for awards celebrating their cartooning, regardless of political viewpoint, was not enough to convince a few.

So I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise I received one note last week I wish I hadn't: a newspaper cancellation from someone who cited my column about cartoons as the reason they had decided to cancel their subscription.

I imagine that person is not reading this. But to the rest of you, I hope you stick with the opinion page. I don't promise you are always going to like what you see on there, but hopefully you learn something, or your thoughts are provoked.

Please continue to let me know what you like or don't like about our opinion offerings by e-mailing me at scott.ayers@bellinghamherald.com or calling me at 715-2294.

Scott Ayers is an editor for The Bellingham Herald.