Sunday, February 16, 2014

Time for the St. Augustine Record to Rehire Local Cartoonists

The St. Augustine Record is now running political cartoons again. They are mostly unfunny, unsubtle and obscure political cartoonists most noted for their anti-Obama tilt.
How cartoonish and thuggish.
The Record needs local political cartoons again.
Ten years ago, the Record on Sunday might run two to four local political cartoons, satirizing Florida nad local events.
Derek May, then-Publisher of the Record, in 2009 wrongfully fired one local political cartoonist, Ed Hall.
Why?
May knuckled under to Philistine pressure from St. Johns County School Superintendent Joseph Joyner and his minions, including Arts Council founder Phil McDaniel.
The Record and Morris Communications need to rehire Ed Hall.
Let the healing begin.
The firing was in response to McDaniel's overwrought Op-Ed piece, responding as if Hall had mocked the School Superintendent. Actually, the cartoon was of a generic Florida School Superintendent, fat and bloated, portrayed as cutting arts and music education while retaining his perks (and pork). So porcine is our local political machine, all Republican, all the time, that it flexed its muscles by reaching out to crush Ed Hall's excellent cartoons.
The Record has been poorer for the exclusion of local cartoons since 2009 -- first Ed Hall, then Doug MacGregor.
One of the joys of having a supposedly local newspaper is having local cartoons on local issues.
The Record needs to restore local cartoonists, in keeping with its renewed putative commitment to local news.
What do you reckon?

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