August 2012 Update: I have been managing this blog for about 12 months now. Each day between 500 and 1000 people come and visit, and I thank you all for your support.
Thanks again to all the cartoonists in Australia, and I am sorry to those whose work now has limited exposure due to the paywall policies that proliferate. I understand the need for a viable publishing model, but in the days of the internet, personal blogs, mashups, syndication, tweets and retweets and creative commons, I really don’t agree with the locking up of great content that edifies the reader and in this case the nation.
The latest hot social network site is Pinterest, and it is entirely based on republishing cool images. The whole site is built on images being “pinned”or liked and shared, and it all moves so fast that IP is rarely a consideration. Ownership is not claimed, and commercial gain is not sought, rather, great content is shared.
My Pinterest site is here: http://pinterest.com/sparkyone1/ It is just a repost of great images on this site, none of which I claim ownership or seek to gain commercial benefit. I only use Twitter and Pinterest to broaden the reach of this site and build backlinks to it to gain credibility for Google.
Facebook, has now moved to their (annoying) timeline format. Again, this is all about sharing images more so than written content. Images and videos, for our short attention span, makes the internet go round. Facebook buys Instagram, so that photos taken on the ubiquitous smart phone can be edited and uploaded on the run. Images and videos are the content that people love and we are encouraged to share through all these means.
Political Cartoons: Superior Art – the thoughtful image
(Ok, so they are not fine art, but…) Political cartoons are the preeminent images on the internet. Why? Because they are created with love, time, purpose talent and intellect. They are not a happy snap made cool by an after-market filter. They take thought, planning, understanding of the pulse of the community, the mood of the nation: they ask us to reflect and they challenge our personal views. Political cartoons ask questions, poke and prod. They can travel into territory that is unpleasant and succinctly make a point, like no other medium.
The Australian cartoonists campaign against Syria is a great example of principled content that should be shared around the world. Not hidden behind a paywall. Political cartoonists take an important issue, and further the debate, challenge our own thoughts, make us laugh, make us angry. Political cartoonists, working at their peak, take two, three or more current themes and turn them into works of art. Take a look at this brilliant David Pope below.
I am proud to re-post the great work of our cartoonists. I have had a number of these cartoonists contact me and thank me for doing so. I hope that this work expand their reach, and helps them to sustain and build their personal business.
I am extremely grateful to those newspapers who are keeping the access to their newspapers open. I am having great difficulty getting into some sites. Even when I sign up to the subscription. If any reader can find an “easy access” to Herald Sun cartoons please let me know. I just can’t afford the monthly signup to The Aus, Fin Review, Herald Sun etc. I get dozens of people coming here every day looking for a Mark Knight cartoons from the HeraldSun. I am sorry to disappoint on that front, as I cant get in to see them myself.
The paywall is counter current culture. Content should be shared and celebrated, as per the Creative Commons licensing ideal.
Pat Campbell…
[...] See here for more of my motives… http://politicalcartoonsaustralia.com/paywall-and-stuff/ [...]
I just used an alias for the hell of it …. Political cartoons are an incredibly effective way to raise political awareness and make telling points. I love Talking Pictures on the Insiders. I love this site! I lean to the right but laugh just as much at an Abbott cartoon depiction as I do a Gillard one. If all the cartoonists have to do is raise an objection and they won’t be published on this site – what is the problem?
Is it really that different from posting a cartoon on a wall in a meal room (as long as profit is not made from it).
I hope all cartoonists continue to support this site (or at least tolerate it). If political cartoons were more widely available they would do more for “keeping the bastards honest” than the Democrats or Greens and boring political commentators ever have.
Thankyou for your comments Another. I agree wholeheartedly.
Martin, webmaster
For the record the Australian Cartoonists Association does not endorse this blog.
Peter Broelman
Secretary
Australian Cartoonists Association
I applaud your taste in cartoons but I’m not sure whether ‘creative commons’ entitles you to swipe cartoons from everywhere. I suggest you ask the permission of the cartoonists you use if you haven’t already.
Copyright might in many cases lie with the newspapers in question in which case you might be wise to to ask permission. The cartoons are I assume paid for by the newspapers on an exclusive basis. Non exclusivity could well impinge on the earning power of the cartoonists. Please be aware that your ‘free content’ site might well kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. It’ll either drive all cartoons behind firewalls or end up with the cartoonists losing their jobs. I may be wrong but I don’t believe you’re doing the professional cartooning community any favors by your exposure of their work.
To the right of this comment box lie links to Emdin, Kudelka and Nicholson. Perhaps you should ask them for their thoughts?
I’m using an alias as I appear to be talking to someone unkeen to reveal their identity.
Hi Ann Alias
thanks for your comment.
No alias here – my name and photo is on the About Us page. That page also has links to the Terms of Service pages from Fairfax and News – my acknowledgement of same.
Whilst I understand where you are coming from, I want to restate my intent here is to share what would otherwise be shared, whether the artist is credited and knows about it or not. Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook, ….all image based. I do not agree with you that this site may kill any golden egg. Rather I would hope that it raises the profile and enhance any earning potential of the cartoonists.
I have had contact with a number of cartoonists this past year, including 2 of the ones you named. All have been encouraging; one has asked me not to publish which I was happy to comply with. The President of Australian Cartoonists’ Association contacted me last November saying he enjoyed what I was doing.
One of the interesting things that has come from this has been the school classes from around the country that have used one of the toons as an essay topic or a discussion point. Australia Day, same sex marriage, asylum seekers, parliamentary behaviour … all being discussed in classrooms with a brilliant toon as the reference point.
I really enjoy curating these great works, and the readers certainly enjoy catching up with ‘toons that they would never be exposed to. If the cartoon community overwhelmingly decided that this site was against their best interests, I would cease and desist (sadly).
Thanks again for your comments. You raise some important points.
Martin Paul
webmaster