End Of An Era

Borgman Starts New Chapter

This sucks. People aren't reading newspapers anymore, so newspapers have to cut back on staff. There are casualties when an industry is dying, I get that. I just can't believe that Jim Borgman is one of those casualties. "Voluntary severance program" my ass. He is hand's down the best editorial cartoonist in the country and he's getting laid off. Look, I know I claim that Cincinnati has a lot of great things, but this one's no joke. Jim Borgman truly is great. He's won every award possible for his profession, including the Pulitzer back in 1991. He was a liberal voice commenting in a ridiculously (and sometimes stupidly) conservative town, but he wasn't afraid to call out the left when they deserved it. People here loved and respected his work, even when they disagreed with it. Whether he needed to be funny or moving, subtle or overt, I always felt that Jim Borgman gave the perfect tone for the topic he was drawing.

I guess there is some consolation in that he'll have a new weekly feature that will run in Sunday's Forum section (where he's Sunday comic normally runs), but in the grand scheme of things, this is bad news. I'll miss his daily take on not just what's happening here in Cincinnati, but on what's happening around the country and around world (and there would be plenty of material for him in the coming months, with the election moving full speed ahead and the Bengals almost certain ineptitude). Reasons for getting The Enquirer were running thin to begin with; this most certainly does not help.