The Future of Journalism is Now!
January 29th, 2026 Barry Posted in Media criticism | No Comments »
This cartoon is by Jenn Manley Lee and I.
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels.
PANEL 1
Two anchors on a TV news show are talking.
MALE ANCHOR: Breaking news – The sale of this network to a billionaire has been finalized!
FEMALE ANCHOR: Wow! It seems like that’s been happening to all the networks!
PANEL 2
A guy sits in his living room, practicing the guitar, while the news plays on his laptop.
MALE ANCHOR: Not just the networks – all the social media sites too!
FEMALE ANCHOR: So will things be changing here in the newsroom.
PANEL 3
The news plays on a wall-mounted TV in a laundromat.
MALE ANCHOR: Absolutely not! Our news division will remain independent!
FEMALE ANCHOR: You really think so?
PANEL 4
In the TV studio; we are behind the anchors, looking at the cameras and lights. A nervous looking intern winces away from a confident looking executive. The cue card the intern holds says “Of course! In fact, it’s good that journalism is owned by kindly oligarchs with only the public’s best interests at heart!”
MALE ANCHOR: Of course! In fact, it’s good that journalism is owned by kindly oligarchs with only the public’s best interests at heart!
CHICKEN FAT WATCH
“Chicken fat” is ancient cartoonist lingo for fun but unimportant details in the art.
PANEL 1 – In the skyline in the background, a caped superhero flies. The chyron says “Cahped Hero Spotted Over Skyline – only the most attentive viewers notice. End times sign?
PANEL 2 – The dog is very attentively watching the newscast. The book the man is looking at is called “Guitar Riffs for a Mid-Life Crisis.”
PANEL 3 – The chyron on TV says “Blah Blah Blah Blah. Blah? Yes, Blah!” and then “this particularly rapid unintelligible patter” (a Gilbert and Sullivan reference).
Signs on the wall: “WANTED: Flier writer. Must be able to write better fliers than this one.” “LOST: Innocence. If found do not return, I worked so hard to get rid of it.” “NOTICE: Soap sludge scraped off the bottom of washers is NOT edible.”
A koi fish is swimming around in the washing machine.
