Clay Bennett - Editorial Cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize Winner (Part 3 of 3)
By Admin | November 12, 2008 at 7:32 pm
How has the Internet affected editorial cartooning?
The internet has had a huge impact on our profession.
Its most profound impact on editorial cartoonists has probably been in the delivery of our work. A drawing that used to take several days by snail mail, or a day (and no small expense) by FedEx to deliver, now arrives immediately, inexpensively, and digitally perfect via e-mail
or an FTP site.
In a profession that depends on the timeliness of their product’s arrival, this is no small accomplishment. The internet’s economic and creative impact on our profession, however, has been far less profound.
Economically, the web has been a wash for most of us. We might get a few more reprints and certainly more readers from our exposure on the web, but it hasn’t yet become a marketplace that can provide many of us with a living wage.
Creatively, the internet has proven to be less than revolutionary, too. There are a few among us who get it: cartoonists who understand that you have to exploit the features that are unique to this 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 editorial cartoons. But for most of us, 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.
How do you actually draw your cartoons? What medium did you start with and what do you do now?
In the past, I would draw pencil sketches very lightly on Bristol Board and then ink right over those lines with a brush and India Ink.
Now, I draw my line art on tracing paper using a felt marker. The advantage in using tracing paper is that refining the elements within the drawing, or its overall composition is much easier and faster to achieve.
Usually, I’ll go through four or five of these preliminary drawings before the line art is complete. Once I’ve got the line art looking good, I’ll scan the drawing into a PhotoShop document where I’ll add the tones/color, the shadows, highlights, labels, borders and captions if needed.
A finished cartoon takes many hours to complete. Depending on the complexity of the drawing, it could take as few as two to three hours or as many as ten to twelve.
What were you doing when you found out that you won the Pulitzer?
I was awaiting the results.
The date and time of the Pulitzer Prize announcements is well known. Most years, the finalists in the various categories are public knowledge too.
Knowing I was one of the three finalists for the editorial cartooning prize in 2002, I was waiting for the verdict in the office of my editor at The Christian Science Monitor.
My wife had come down to the newsroom, so we both watched nervously as my editor kept an eye on the AP wire as the winners names were released.
Editorial cartooning is one of the last categories announced, so the wait was excruciating.
I should tell you, that I had been a nominated finalists the three years prior to 2002, so I was well acquainted with seeing it slip through my fingers. I was probably expecting the same as I stood there awaiting the verdict.
But that wasn’t the case this time. When the editorial cartooning category was finally announced, it was my name. So, I hugged my editor and my wife - in that order, I’m often reminded - and was whisked out to the newsroom to celebrate with my colleagues at The Monitor.
Which of your many awards has meant the most to you professionally? Personally?
Journalism awards are awarded for different beats and by different groups, so they’re all special in their own way.
The Overseas Press Club award, for instance, recognizes the best coverage of foreign issues and events, while the Robert F. Kennedy Award goes to outstanding journalism on issues concerning the underprivileged of society.
Some awards are judged by editors and writers, while others are given out by fellow cartoonists.
Professionally, I’d have to say that The Pulitzer Prize probably means the most. It’s one of the oldest and most recognized of the awards in journalism. Reflecting that, it’s often said once you win a Pulitzer, you know the first three words of your obituary.
Personally, I’d have to say that the ‘Ink Bottle Award’ means the most to me. It’s the award given out by the AAEC (Association of Editorial Cartoonists) to a member of the organization for service to both the association in particular and our profession in general.
It means so much to me because the AAEC has meant so much to me over the years. I’ve had many peaks and valleys in my career, but no matter where I was along the way, my fellow cartoonists have always been there for me.
Their friendship and support has always meant the world to me, so getting the ‘ink bottle’ made me think that I may have paid back at least bit of the huge debt I owe them all.
How do you develop ideas for your cartoons? Do you find you have trouble turning off your “cartooning” brain, for instance, when you are watching football or on Christmas morning?
I don’t ever want to turn off the cartooning part of my brain. Cartoons are everywhere, just waiting to be found. If I’m not looking for them constantly, I might miss a really good one.
As for conceptualizing cartoon ideas, well, they come to you in many ways. Sometimes an idea will hit you like a bolt of lightning, other times, most times, the idea is produced through long hours of playing with different images, or turning different phrases.
This process is very difficult to explain because it’s so abstract in nature. Some cartoons are a product of inspiration, some are the product of perspiration. The trick to good cartooning is to make the latter look like the former.
If you weren’t a cartoonist, what would you be doing professionally?
I don’t know. This is all I’ve ever really wanted to do. I suppose I might be a reporter, or maybe a teacher.
What two pieces of advice would you give to someone who wanted to become an editorial cartoonist?
My first bit of advice would be to think again. There just aren’t that many career opportunities in this line of work. That being said, this advice won’t discourage anyone who’s REALLY a cartoonist.
Cartooning is not a choice, it’s a madness that you can’t repress. That being the case, I would encourage any budding cartoonists to study and learn animation. The future of journalism is online, so being skilled at using the elements that the internet has to offer -sound and motion - might well improve one’s chance of gainful employment.
Copyright 2008 DailyInterview.com
Topics: Pulitzer Winners and Finalists, Artists | No Comments »
Clay Bennett - Editorial Cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize Winner (Part 2 of 3)
By Admin | November 11, 2008 at 5:58 pm
How old were you when you drew your first cartoon and what was it about?
I have no idea what my first cartoon was about, or where it is today. I’ve been a cartoonist as long as I can remember, so my first cartoon was probably drawn when I was 4 or 5 years old.
Why do you think you became an editorial cartoonist?
Cartooning was always a passion of mine, so pursuing some career in cartooning was a given. The desire to become an ‘editorial’ cartoonist developed as my passion for politics started to blossom.
For me, this came around the age of 14. Now, that may sound very young to some folks, but it really wasn’t unusual in my family. The Bennett’s are a passionate and opinionated lot.
With a family dynamic more like the McLaughlin Group than the Brady Bunch, debate and argument were commonplace in our house.
Every night at the dinner table, I would watch the debates unfold. My two older sister, both liberals, would take on our dad, a career army officer and staunch Republican.
It was always the same, my sisters would argue from their hearts, while my dad would argue from his head.
Even though I agreed with my sisters views, I always admired my old man’s ability to support his positions with facts, figures, and anecdotal evidence.
I learned a lot from both sides. I learned compassion and understanding from one side, logic and reasoning from the other.
I tried my best over the years to incorporate both lessons: to express views more like those of my sisters, but to argue their virtues with the analytical skill of my dad.
What is your all-time favorite cartoon that you have drawn?
I can’t say. If you estimate that I draw 250 cartoons a year, and multiply that by almost 30 years I’ve been a cartoonist, you’d come up with about… um… er, well a whole lot of cartoons.
To pick one cartoon above all the rest as my favorite would be tough. It’s like picking your favorite son or daughter.
Who is your favorite cartoonist?
My favorite cartoonist is Argentina’s Quino (Joaquin Salvador Lavardo). In my humble opinion, he is a god among cartooning mortals. His work is a true testament to the universal nature of cartooning.
He hails from another continent, speaks a foreign language and is the product of a different culture, but still communicates masterfully with this insular American through his unique and inventive visual storytelling.
Technically, he’s not an editorial cartoonist, but in my mind, no cartoonist captures the politics of the human condition better than does Quino.
Who has been the seminal cartoonist in this century? Charles Schulz?
Charles Schulz would be a good guess. That’s really a tough one, though, because there are many cartoonists who have produced important and influential work in different cartooning disciplines.
Editorial cartoonists might list Herblock, Mauldin, or Oliphant as the most seminal cartoonist of the past 100 years, animators might point to Walt Disney, Tex Avery, or Chuck Jones as being the most influential, but Stan Lee or Will Eisner might make the list if your talking comic books.
There are so many different forms of cartooning and so many great cartoonists, it’s impossible to elevate one above the rest.
Has any editor or paper ever called you in and said, “Whoa there, cowboy, tone it down?”
Although I don’t believe I’ve ever been called ‘cowboy’, I’ve certainly been told to ‘tone it down’.
Newspapers that subscribe to my work will never do that. They’ll just refuse to run the cartoon, or cancel their subscription.
The newspaper for which you work is different. That paper has a great stake in you, the work you produce, and what tone and positions your work expresses.
So, yes, I’ve been told, many times, by various employers over the years, to tone it down.
My current newspaper, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has been great on this particular issue.
The publisher here understands the nature of editorial cartooning, he understands that creativity is best achieved the more freely it’s exercised. He also understands that I’ve been at this for a very long time.
He realizes that I value my freedom enough to exercise it responsibly. I have yet to be told what to draw, what to say, or how to say it. There were many reasons I took this job, but the editorial freedom I was promised was probably the single-most important of them.
So far, the paper has made good on that promise. I can only hope that never changes.
How do you work? Do you have a favorite place, or time or method that you use to draw?
I’m always working to a degree, but most of the real work I do in creating a cartoon is done in my newsroom office. I do have a method, but if I told you what it was, I’d have to kill you.
How many cartoons do you draw in a week?
Five. They appear in the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday editions of the paper.
Do you let your wife or a colleague critique your cartoons before you hand them in?
Sometimes, but it’s not really a critique, and it comes long before I hand in the cartoon. If I’m sure about the cartoon and the idea behind it, I usually don’t need any validation at all. I’ll just draw it up and hand it in.
But if I’m insecure about a cartoon, if I’m worried that the idea isn’t coming across, or if the cartoon’s point is not apparent, I’ll show it to a few people in the newsroom to see what they think. It’s like my own little focus group.
I can easily lose my enthusiasm for a cartoon if it doesn’t get a good reception from this test audience.
Copyright 2008 DailyInterview.com
Topics: Pulitzer Winners and Finalists, Artists | No Comments »
Clay Bennett - Editorial Cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize Winner (Part 1 of 3)
By Admin | November 10, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Clay Bennett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist on staff at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He gives us his thoughts on cartooning.
Where are you from?
I grew up an army brat, so, I’ve lived in many places. I was born South Carolina, but lived in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Virginia, and Alabama before moving off on my own.
As an adult and I use that term loosely, I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts and now, Tennessee.
With a history like that, it’s hard to say that I’m from any of these places. But in a very real way, I guess I’m from them all.
Where did you go to college and what was your academic major?
I attended the University of North Alabama (Florence, AL), where I majored in rabble-rousing. Technically, though, my degrees were in Art and History.
What has been your career path from college to your current position?
After graduating from college in 1980, I worked as a staff artist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There, I drew maps, charts, graphs and illustrations.
I spent just six months in Pittsburgh before joining the staff of the Fayetteville Times in North Carolina. Unlike the Post-Gazette job, this position included the opportunity to draw five editorial cartoons a week.
That experience helped me land the job as the staff editorial cartoonist for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida in 1981.
I worked at the St. Pete Times for eleven wonderful years. Unfortunately, I was there for thirteen.
In 1992, Robert Pittman, the editor who hired me retired, and was replaced with a much lesser man - sealing the fate of the Times editorial page and my position as its cartoonist.
My own demise, however painful, came quickly, being fired in 1994. The decline of the Times editorial page, though, was both painful and protracted.
The next three years of my career were spent in professional oblivion. Passed over for the few cartooning jobs that were available at the time, I weathered the storm the best I could.
I continued to draw editorial cartoons for the Tallahassee Democrat and for syndication through King Features with modest financial return. This forced me to increasingly turn to freelance artwork and teaching to pay the bills.
By December of 1997, I was beginning to think that my career as an editorial cartoonist was over. That’s when I got a call from The Christian Science Monitor.
Three years since my last staff job, and three months since drawing my last cartoon, I was hired as The Monitor’s new editorial cartoonist.
Given a second chance at my career, I worked harder than ever. In return, I had a great run over the following decade.
In my 10 years at The Monitor, I was a nominated finalist for the Pulitzer Prize six times, winning it in 2002.
I received the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Journalism Award from the Scripps Howard Foundation, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.
I won the Overseas Press Club Award twice, the John Fischetti Award twice, the National Headliner Award three times and was named ‘Editorial Cartoonist of the Year’ by Editor & Publisher magazine in 2001.
I left The Monitor in late 2007 to join the staff of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. A return to metro journalism, the promise of editorial and artistic freedom, and an opportunity to live in the south again, proved irresistible.
I currently draw five cartoons a week for the Times Free Press, and my work is syndicated internationally through the Washington Post Writers Group.
Why did you get fired by the Times in 1994?
The official reason for my termination was that “my work no longer met the standards of the St. Petersburg Times”.
That’s what I was told by the man who fired me, and that’s what was written on the form I signed during my exit interview. But there was much more to to the story than that.
My termination followed months of rancor between myself and the newly appointed editorial page editor, Phil Gailey. Although it was becoming increasingly apparent that he liked neither me, nor my politics, I was confident that my position at the newspaper was secure.
Big mistake! Months of friction with my new editor finally took its toll. On Monday, Oct 10, 1994, after 13 years of service to the Times, I was invited into Gailey’s office and fired.
Even though I was strongly encouraged to resign my post instead of suffering the shame of termination, I wanted the truth to be told. So I chose to have my departure reported as what it really was- a firing.
As devastating as it was to have my career at the newspaper end, it was what happened after that day that was most disturbing.
When pressed by various media outlets covering the story of my dismissal, Times Publisher Andrew Barnes consistently refused to give any reasons for the action, stating that doing so would “violate my privacy”.
So, instead of an honest answer, the newspaper resorted to a campaign to fuel any and all suspicions as to the cause of my termination. It was an intentional effort that lead many, including some my closest friends, to speculate that there must be something that they weren’t being told.
I never respected the editor who fired me, so his behavior meant nothing to me. But I always thought highly of Andy Barnes. So, his callous disregard for the truth, not mention my reputation, was a tragic disappointment to me.
Copyright 2008 DailyInterview.com
Topics: Pulitzer Winners and Finalists, Artists | No Comments »
Kent Strock - Turkey Farmer and Owner of Strock’s Farm Fresh Meats
By Admin | October 31, 2008 at 3:02 am
Kent Strock comes from a long-time farming family and is the owner of Strock’s Farm Fresh Meats in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. In addition to his thriving catering business, he raises turkeys. He gives us his thoughts on being a turkey farmer.
Where are you from?
I was raised on this farm in PA, actually born in Mechanicsburg, at Seidle Hospital in 1952 and have a brother and two sisters, all of whom are younger.
Where did you go to college and what was your academic major?
I was a little undecided upon graduation from MHS on a college major so I started one term late at PSU in the winter of 1971 as an Ag Education major.
What has been your career path from college to your current position?
Four years later I accepted a job as an Ag teacher at West Perry but did not return for a second year.
I was a 4-H Exchange Youth to Jamaica in 1975 for four months and then returned to Mechanicsburg and applied for Grad School at several Midwestern schools. I decided upon Iowa State and spent two years as an Animal Science major in Ames, Iowa.
I took a teaching position in Austin, Minnesota just prior to graduating and spent four years at Austin Community College as the Ag Coordinator, from 1978-1981.
It was while in Minnesota that I learned how to cook pigs and that became a very important part of our business after we moved back to PA in 1981.
I worked for my father on the home farm for 4 years and then took over the hog operation from him in 1985 and we continued to roast pigs on the weekend.
My wife bought a small market stand at Broad Street Market in Harrisburg in the 80s and we moved to the home farm in 1994 and opened a retail meat market selling our own fresh meats and making several deli items for sale, also. We continued the market until 2003 and decided to focus on the catering aspect.
I took over the turkey business in 1997, and shortly after that sold my sows and got out of the hog business.
The turkey business had been started as an FFA project by my uncle in the 1920s and was continued by my father when he separated from his business partnership with his brothers about 1950.
We have been raising and processing turkeys ever since and have maintained a small retail store on the farm selling at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
How many turkeys a year do you sell?
We will process about 1300 for Thanksgiving this year and 400 for Christmas.
Do you breed your turkeys to produce each year’s crop?
The turkeys that we raise are secured from two hatcheries, one in Canada and one in Michigan. I buy the polts (baby turkey) as a hatchling and grow them from 24 hours of age to market.
Why do you buy polts from two different hatcheries?
The reason we use two different hatcheries is to have a variety of sizes for our customers. The Canadian turkeys are a smaller breed and the Michigan birds mature at a larger size so that we can have turkeys from 13-30 pounds at the holidays.
Our demand is for generally for 13-23# turkeys a few larger ones. The nice thing about purchasing polts is that I can order quantities by sex. The hens are smaller and the toms give me the large birds a few of my customers desire.
Is there any difference in taste between a tom and hen turkey?
No real difference between the taste of a hen and tom. Remember they are the same age at slaughter.
What is the hardest part about raising turkeys?
The hardest part of raising turkeys is the first four weeks. They require a draft free and very warm environment - 95 degrees - during that time and need to be checked often.
What do turkeys eat?
We feed a corn and soybean based diet using our own corn. I am not an “organic” farmer as we will use corn that has been sprayed for weeds with herbicides. We do withdraw antibiotics from the feed the last two weeks to assure that our birds are free of antibiotics.
How do you actually prepare a turkey for market?
The turkeys are grown for about 16 weeks and then slaughtered here and packaged for sale. We kill using funnels to restrain the turkeys, then scald the birds and use an automatic picking machine to remove the feathers.
The scalding process places the birds in 135-140 degree water for one minute and fifteen seconds. This loosens the feathers so that the picker can remove the feathers quite easily.
We open every turkey by hand and clean them for packaging the next day. The dressed turkey is chilled overnight in ice water and sealed in a Cryovac plastic bag and boxed for ease of handling the following day.
We stack them in refrigerated trailer, by size, and offer a drive thru service for customers that have paid in advance.
Is it true that turkeys are stupid?
Domestic turkeys are quite stupid. They are easily scared and will pile on top of one another in a corner if sufficiently scared.
I usually lose one or two every year because of something very stupid that they do. While they share a resemblance to their wild relatives, I doubt that a domestic turkey would last in the woods.
What does your family eat for Thanksgiving dinner?
Our family dinner at Thanksgiving always includes turkey. We all enjoy a fresh turkey for the holidays.
Does your family eat other types of meat?
Pork is another favorite around here. My sons refer to bacon as “meat candy” and our charcoal roasted pork is unbeatable.
Do you make a living off of your turkey farming?
The catering business now provides the bulk of our income. The turkey business has greater longevity but provides only about 20% of our net income. We would be considered a small entity in the poultry industry.
Locally, I am sure we sell a substantial number of turkeys but we are just that, a very local business.
Are any of your kids interested in taking over the business?
At this time none of our children have shown an interest in the business. All are grown and have pursued other careers. They are all located close by and can be called upon at times to help in a pinch.
Do you consider McCain or Obama to be more farmer friendly?
In regard to the election, I am not thrilled with either candidate. I wish McCain was more conservative and Obama is much too liberal for my taste. Palin is more my style candidate.
From an agricultural perspective I see McCain as the better alternative. Quite frankly Obama scares me. I do not think he has been honest and his policies are dead wrong on many issues.
Editors Note: The interviewer has eaten many Strock Farm turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner.
Copyright 2008 DailyInterview.com
Topics: Farmers | No Comments »
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