Some readers have asked how we decide which new comic strips will appear in our pages. That work falls to me and the comics committee.
The 17-member advisory panel includes staff members with widely differing tastes in humor, but no one is rigid in his or her enjoyment of the various genres, from satire, to golden oldies, to modern families, to the workplace, to talking animals. The committee is a culturally and gender-diverse group of various ages.
Here’s the approval process: A features syndicate representative shares a forthcoming cartoon with us. We pass the samples around. We vote. Majority rules, but passion counts: Nine “it’s just OK” votes will never outweigh eight “hated it” votes. The comments during and after a vote are often funnier than the submitted cartoons. After the vote, editors make the final call on whether to change the lineup.
Several of my reader correspondents have asked why we don’t have nonemployees on the committee. First, the proposed cartoons themselves are a confidential matter between the Tribune and the features syndicate until publication date. Also, we are guided somewhat by internal research that we’re not at liberty to share for competitive reasons.
Be assured, though, that committee members are fierce about maintaining the quality and freshness of our cartoon offerings.
Tomorrow in this space: Can we agree to disagree on what’s funny?
— Geoff Brown, Associate Managing Editor / Entertainment
