BusinessTN

Last October, well-regarded Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial cartoonist Bruce Plante left his post of 22 years to go to work for the Tulsa World. The TFP made additional headlines just two weeks later when it announced the hiring of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Clay Bennett to replace Plante. Most recently at the Christian Science Monitor, Bennett officially began his duties in Tennessee on Jan. 1, 2008. Bennett, an Alabama native, had previously worked at such papers as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and St. Petersburg Times. Shortly before publishing his first works in Tennessee, Bennett granted an interview to BusinessTN magazine.

BTN: How did the Times Free Press get you to move to Chattanooga?

Bennett: To me, the top three priorities when considering a cartooning job are editorial freedom, job security, and quality of life. The way I see it, the Chattanooga Times Free Press is three for three.

My highest priority, of course, would be editorial freedom. The conversations I've had with my old pal and former Times Free Press cartoonist Bruce Plante about his experiences in Chattanooga, along with my discussions on the topic with the newspaper's publisher, Tom Griscom, convinced me that this job would offer the kind of latitude that I desire. Editorial freedom is a huge issue for any cartoonist, and a major factor in the quality of any cartooning job.

Job security is important to any employee, and a journalist is no different. In the past decade, though, job security and print journalism has been a contradiction in terms. During this period, newspapers across the country have been emaciated by the staff cutbacks of an industry that seems more intent on serving its shareholders than serving the public. Bucking that trend, the Times Free Press can boast of a newsroom that's actually grown in size over recent years. The reason for this might be found in the words of Walter E. Hussman Sr., the founder of the company that now owns the Times Free Press, who once stated, "A newspaper has a number of constituencies. Among those are readers, advertisers, employees, creditors and stockholders. If a newspaper and its publisher always keep those constituencies in that order: readers first, advertisers second, employees third, creditors fourth, and shareholders last, then the newspaper will do well journalistically and financially, and the interests of all constituencies will be well served."

Readers first. Shareholders last. That sounds like a company that's committed to journalism... and by extension, one that's committed to journalists.

The last of my priorities would be the location of a job, and the quality of life there. On that count, I don't think you can do much better than Chattanooga. Growing up just a few hours away, I've always had a special fondness for the city that gave birth to both the MoonPie and Krystal hamburgers. Add to that cultural panoply, the beauty of the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains, and I'll call a Boston-for-Chattanooga trade even.

BTN: During your career at the Christian Science Monitor, your cartoons have focused on national topics. How do you prepare for a transition to commenting on the local politics in Chattanooga and Tennessee?

Bennett: The Christian Science Monitor is a national newspaper. As such, my duties there were limited to addressing only national and international issues in my work. For most of my career though, local and state cartoons were a vital part of the jobs I've held. I learned a lot at The Monitor and was very proud to serve as its cartoonist, but returning to a newspaper with more of a regional focus was one of the main reasons I left Boston for Chattanooga.

As a cartoonist, the goal is always to connect with your readers, and the best way to achieve that is through state and local cartoons. After all, on any given day, there are hundreds of cartoonists who can draw about what's happening in Washington, D.C., but there are only a few who'll take on the state government, and usually only one who'll go after the county commission or city hall. I certainly hope the readers of the Times Free Press will come to appreciate all of my work on any issue, but I fully realize that it will be through my local cartoons that I'll establish myself as a Chattanoogan, and through my state cartoons that I'll be recognized as a citizen of Tennessee.

At this point, most of the preparation for my move to the Times Free Press centers around my move to Chattanooga. I have a house to sell in Massachusetts, one to buy in Tennessee, and a family to move 900 miles in a very short time. I'm trying to educate myself on the local and state scene, but right now, I'm afraid the newspapers I'm most familiar with are the ones being wrapped around any fragile items before they get packed into a box.

BTN:What is the value of editorial cartoonists to our media, or better yet, our First Amendment rights in a democracy? Is there a larger implication for our country when the number of cartooning jobs is on the decline?

Bennett: Editorial cartoonists are a value to democracy because democracy needs hecklers.

Let's face it, most people are just plain nice. Most are reluctant to impose their comments or observations on others when those views are either unkind or unsolicited. Most folks will sit quietly in a theater (no matter how bad the performance) and clap politely when the production ends. Which is fine. They're simply behaving in a civil and considerate fashion.

But in every audience there's a heckler—someone who's either fearless or foolhardy enough to publicly ridicule the flaws in a performance. Some might consider him obnoxious, others might think him crass, and they might be right. At times though, the role of a heckler is defined by daring, candor, and more than a fair share of confidence.

Columnists and editorial writers are more like theater critics—studiously observing, then methodically reviewing the show with deserving praise or criticism. Editorial cartoonists, however, would be the hecklers—blurting out their complaints for all to hear, receiving scorn from some and approving nods from others in the audience. Although the critic and heckler basically serve the same purpose, the latter is much less concerned with the prospect of embarrassing others... or himself.

These days, we have too few hecklers. Over the past three decades, the number of editorial cartoonists working in America's newsrooms has been cut in half. It's simple math: fewer newspapers, fewer cartoonists. That decline, along with the more recent loss of jobs in newsroom staff cutbacks, has decimated the number of full-time cartooning positions.

The trendlines may not look good, but I firmly believe that editorial cartoonists will survive this current decline. In the long run, we attract more readers to a newspaper than we alienate, and we make more money for the industry than it costs to employ us. Bean counters may not care about what's good for journalism, but they do care about what's good for business. Editorial cartoonists are good for both, and that fact will ultimately be our salvation.

BTN: Newspapers are obviously struggling. How would hiring more, local cartoonists help the overall economic outlook of print journalism?

Bennett: Print journalism's decline in readership began with the growing popularity of television news. As that medium grew in stature and eventually expanded to 24-hour dedicated news channels, our decline continued. Add to that the Internet's explosion onto the scene a decade ago and you've got the perfect storm for those of us making our living with ink and newsprint.

The storm is raging now, and we can't simply batten down the hatches and hope to weather it. Print journalism needs to figure out where its readers went, why they went there, and then fight like hell to win them back.

Certainly, some of the decline in newspaper readership is of our own making. The ambitious and innovative spirit that once characterized print journalism was lost along with the two-newspaper town. Having cornered the market (and without direct competition for readers), many daily papers simply lost their edge. They didn't have to innovate. They didn't have to take risks. They didn't have to hustle. At the end of the day, the media market was left with one less newspaper, and the public was left with one lesser newspaper.

Television news and the Internet certainly did their part to contribute to our decline in both readers and revenues. The immediacy of television news, and the unrestricted nature of Web journalism has taken a toll on a medium that still delivers its product on a daily news cycle and operates under accepted standards of responsible journalism. While many might view the newspaper industry as a dinosaur inexorably heading toward extinction, I see us as a species that merely needs to adapt to a changing environment.

And there's no reason we can't.

One feature that works well in print and electronic form is the editorial cartoon. The Internet has already forced cartoonists to adapt. The static, black & white world of political cartoons has been transformed for the Web with most cartoonists adding color to their work for that platform. Others are going a step further (taking full advantage of what the medium has to offer) by animating their cartoons.

It's now up to every newspaper to re-think its product in the same way.

It's my hope that the Internet will not be the death of us, but will instead breathe new life into us. Electronic publishing may be just the rival our industry needs to regain the competitive spirit that defined print journalism during its heyday.

BTN: How is the editorial cartoonist community adapting to the changing media landscape?

Bennett: The Internet has had a huge impact on editorial cartooning. A drawing that used to take several days to mail, now arrives immediately, inexpensively, and digitally perfect via electronic transmission. In a profession that depends on the timeliness of their product's arrival, this is no small accomplishment.

Economically, the Web has been a wash for most us. A cartoonist might get a few more reprints and certainly more readers from his or her exposure on the Web, but it has yet to become a marketplace that can provide many of us with a living wage.

There are a few among us who get it: cartoonists who understand that you have to exploit the features that are unique to the platform (sound and movement) to make an impact on the Web. In fact, many of them have abandoned print journalism entirely, staking their claim in the digital frontier with animated cartoons. For most of us, though, static cartoons are still the industry standard, and the Internet has served as little more than an impetus to add some color to our work. Even that meager advancement, however, is a major development for an art form that was stubbornly reluctant to abandon the black & white world of the editorial page.

Adaptation is the key to the survival of any species. Whether it's the use of color or the use of sound and motion, editorial cartoonists need to adapt to the environment in which we currently exist or suffer the same unenviable fate of every species that has failed to do so.

BTN: I assume you've been studying up on Tennessee current events. Have you come across any issue in Tennessee that presents itself as good editorial fodder to someone looking in from outside the state?

Bennett: Describing me as "someone looking from outside the state" is quite fitting because that's exactly how I'll be seen when I move to Chattanooga. I expect that's how I'll be viewed for some time to come.

So, as much as I'm trying to bring myself up to speed on both Chattanooga and Tennessee, it's purely for my own reference at this point. There's no way I'm coming into a new job, in a new city, in a new state, and pretend to be an authority on any local issues.

As a cartoonist, you really have to ease yourself into a position like this. It would be crazy to come to town and act like some kind of expert on Chattanooga. A cartoonist has a relationship with his or her readers. Like any relationship, you want to make a good first impression. You start off a bit inhibited and on your best behavior. With time, familiarity, and commitment though, there comes the day when you're finally considered one of the family. Only then are you free to let it all hang out.

BTN: Any final comments?

Bennett: The only thing I'd add is how appreciative I am to the Times Free Press and its publisher, Tom Griscom for the opportunity I've been given. My life and career has taken some dramatic and unexpected twists and turns, but it was all worth it if that circuitous route is what led me to Chattanooga. This will be the fifth newspaper I've worked for in my 26 years as an editorial cartoonist. My sincerest hope is that the Times Free Press will be the last.

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery

Clay Bennett Cartoon Gallery