Oct 06 2008
N&O Refrains from Duck Hunting; “Mallard” to stay on Comics Page
From John Drescher, Executive Editor of the N&O:
“Mallard” is not one of our most popular comics (one strip had more than 4,000 votes). But “Mallard” does have a substantial and loyal following.
For that reason, “Mallard” will continue to run in The N&O. The people have spoken — and we’ve listened. For more on the results of the survey, including your top 10 favorites, see Monday’s Life, etc.
Among our functions is to serve as a marketplace for ideas. Mallard plays a valuable role in pushing the debate rightward.
Some of you have complained that our two most politically oriented strips, “Mallard” and “Doonesbury,” run in different places. Garry Trudeau’s left-leaning strip has run on The N&O’s op-ed page for decades.
But Steve Ford, who oversees our editorial pages, likes keeping “Doonesbury” on the op-ed page. And he doesn’t want “Mallard.”
I give credit where credit is due. Last month I blasted the N&O’s Ted Vaden as a “liberal tool” for wanting to toss “Mallard” overboard while refusing to touch the venerated “Doonesbury”. But it looks like wiser heads have prevailed and both comic strips, one conservative and the other liberal, will run in the paper. Good decision guys. Now, if you could find some more balance in your editorial cartoons…
