The fine art of the cartoon skewer

J-Source’s post on the Obama
cover controversy led one reader to reminisce about the time his newspaper
depicted the local town council as pigs. Meanwhile, Christopher Hitchens’ commentary
in the Mirror puts a pox on all houses, stating: “(Jonathan) Swift’s ‘satire
on satires’ could hardly be better…er, illustrated.” Lesson one might be: ‘make sure it’s clear who’s the butt of the joke.’ For our J-Source readers, here’s some further background on the fine art of the cartoon skewer:

• An
  interview with Canadian political cartoonist Graeme MacKay.
• Poynter
  Podcast: Covering the Caricature Controversy: a round-table
  discussion led by Kelly McBride, with Bob Steele, Keith Woods, Roy Peter Clark
  and Aly Colón.
• And, for those of you who like lists:
  Toptenz.net’s 10 controversial magazine covers.

J-Source’s post on the Obama
cover controversy led one reader to reminisce about the time his newspaper
depicted the local town council as pigs. Meanwhile, Christopher Hitchens’ commentary
in the Mirror puts a pox on all houses, stating: “(Jonathan) Swift’s ‘satire
on satires’ could hardly be better…er, illustrated.” Lesson one might be: ‘make sure it’s clear who’s the butt of the joke.’ For our J-Source readers, here’s some further background on the fine art of the cartoon skewer:

• An
  interview with Canadian political cartoonist Graeme MacKay.
• Poynter
  Podcast: Covering the Caricature Controversy: a round-table
  discussion led by Kelly McBride, with Bob Steele, Keith Woods, Roy Peter Clark
  and Aly Colón.
• And, for those of you who like lists:
  Toptenz.net’s 10 controversial magazine covers.

Patricia Elliott

Patricia W. Elliott is a magazine journalist and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina. You can visit her at patriciaelliott.ca.