Originally published in the Grand Rapids Business Journal, December 5, 2005.

Today is Black Ink Monday. You probably didn't know that. Unfortunately, editorial cartoonists know it all too well. Black Ink Monday, a protest by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC), is a response to the Tribune Company's recent elimination of editorial cartooning positions at several of its newspapers, as well as a commentary on newspapers everywhere who have lost sight of the value of having a staff editorial cartoonist.

Please, go to http://editorialcartoonists.com/blackinkmonday.cfm to see the cartoons generated for this topic. I've copied an excerpt of the official press release here:
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EDITORIAL CARTOONISTS ANNOUNCE "BLACK INK MONDAY" TO PROTEST INDUSTRY LAYOFFS

Since Ben Franklin and colonial times, the editorial cartoon has been one of the most visible and popular parts of the daily paper. However, recent changes within the newspaper industry have placed this American institution at risk.

Over the last 20 years, the number of cartoonists on the staff of daily newspapers nationwide has been cut in half. In the last month alone, the Tribune Company (owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and a half-dozen other prominent papers), has forced out well-known and award-winning cartoonists at the LA Times and Baltimore Sun, eliminating their positions entirely*.

Now, editorial cartoonists are responding to these cuts, in the best way they know how — by throwing ink.

On Monday, Dec. 12, dozens of editorial cartoonists will band together for "Black Ink Monday," unleashing their biting commentary on the current state of affairs in the newspaper business, with a specific emphasis on corporate downsizing.

These cartoons will be posted on editorialcartoonists.com (home of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists) and — hopefully — in various papers across the country. The AAEC intends to use the protest to draw attention to, not just the loss of individual jobs, but the wholesale weakening of the daily newspaper.
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This might be seen as case of biting the hand that feeds you. But, ya know, that hand has been slapping us around pretty good the last few years. My take on the subject is below.

This week's Biz Journal comic is at the top, which you may see as either an insightful look at the hypocrisy of political posturing or another frickin' Bush-bashing comic. Either way, I bet it was a lot more accessible and thought-provoking than reading a 1000-word editorial on the same subject.

* Specifically, the LA Times axed Pulitzer-prize winner Mike Ramirez (a brilliant cartoonist with a decidedly conservative bent) and the Baltimore Sun cut Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher (an incredible illustrator who tends to lean left), proving once again that short-sighted stupidity knows no political bounds.