Goodbye, CNN

On Friday, July 12, I was informed by CNN that the Opinion newsletter will be no more. This was in addition to over 100 layoffs including media critic Brian Lowry and tech writer Samantha Murphy. the Race and Equality team was also laid off which was the most interesting aspect for The New York Post. With the elimination of CNN’s Opinion newspaper is the elimination of my drawing cartoons for CNN.

One of the assistant editors, Jane, informed me last Friday (July 12) that after five years, I no longer had a freelance gig with CNN. The editor of the opinion section, Rich, gave me a courtesy call this morning to express his appreciation and to wish me well. I’m going to miss working with the Opinion team at CNN, but I never allowed myself to believe this would last forever.

This isn’t about the people I worked with at CNN or anywhere, but media companies in general. I have worked in this industry too long to give them any trust. Last year, the Minneapolis newspaper, the Star Tribune fired its cartoonist after he had only drawn a few cartoons. This was after a long and protracted nationwide search for a cartoonist to replace one who had retired after more than 40 years at the paper. I don’t trust this industry. Anyway…

When I first started for CNN in 2019, I thought it was a one-time thing…and then it stretched out over five years. That was wonderful. I was doing fine financially (I mean, I was getting by) before CNN but during those five years, we got the COVID pandemic, and the news industry, which was suffering already, got hit even harder. I lost half of my clients during the pandemic. That made me lean on the income from CNN even more. So, this is a huge hit for me financially. I’m not panicking. I didn’t even panic when I got the email, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know I have to do something. I have to do something.

When I was laid off from The Free Lance-Star in 2012, I evolved. I quit drawing for Creators Syndicate and created my own syndicate. I created this blog. I charted a new path without the restrictions from my editors at my newspaper job. I lost a salary and benefits but I gained freedom.

When I left The Free Lance-Star and Creators, I was no longer just a cartoonist. I was also a blogger, salesman, office manager, web designer, promoter, janitor, editor, publisher, and bookkeeper. Ugh. Gone were the days when I could draw a cartoon, send it to an editor, forget about it, and then carry on with the rest of my day. My work didn’t stop for the day when my cartoon was finished. After drawing a cartoon, I had to send it to clients, promote it, write a blog, invoice clients, and eventually, I started doing the videos. I had to create a relationship with readers. I had to pitch, pitch, pitch, and pitch some more. That means some changes are coming and probably in how you receive and read my work too. A cartoonist has to eat.

I do NOT want to have to get a real job. I have a few supporters (people who contribute through PayPal), but they number in the single digits and as I said, I have to eat. I also have to keep the lights on, pay the bills, and hopefully not get evicted.

It’s time for me to evolve again. Changes are coming. You’ll find out soon.

Thank you, CNN, for the great run. Now go tell your higher-ups what newspapers still haven’t learned. Decreasing content does not build your audience.

And I never got to meet Jake Tapper.

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Tales From The Trumpster Fire: I have five copies and you can order yours, signed by me, for $45.00. You can pay through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.

Knee-Deep In Mississippi: There are only 16 copies left of my first book, published in 1997. These can be purchased for $40.00

Tip Jar: If you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.

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