Tue Nov 27, 2007 — by Glenn Hauman

WSJ: Why your newspaper's comics pages bore you

From the Wall Street Journal, Joanne Kaufman's article on why your comics page in your newspaper is making you snooze:

Janet Grimley had some hard-won investment wisdom to share with colleagues at a gathering earlier this fall of the American Association of Sunday and Feature editors in Savannah, Ga. "Look at your comics pages like a stock portfolio," advised Ms. Grimley, an assistant managing editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Diversify. You need to have some risky comics," for instance the slightly subversive observational strip "F Minus," and "some safe purchases like the old favorites." Such "safe purchases" would include blue chips like "Blondie," "Beetle Bailey," "Dennis the Menace" and "Hagar the Horrible."

Heaven forfend anyone thinks of adding an additional page to the comics section or anything. I mean, it's not like the comics section is one of the most read sec-- pardon?

"Many editors like to think Pulitzer Prizes sell newspapers, but comics sell them too -- and probably more than Pulitzer Prizes."

And papers wonder why they're losing readers. Coming up next: USA Today decides they're no longer going to cover Tennessee, citing cutbacks.

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