Ever wonder why newspapers devote an entire non-revenue producing page, every day to a “silly group of pictures” called “cartoons”?

It is more revenue-producing than you may think.

Newspaper owners and publishers have known for years that the time to “hook” the reader is at an early age. They know that though the newspaper keeps the same name, journalists will change, quality of writing will change, advertisers will come and go, but to keep a newspaper alive, it needs loyalty.

Though journalists are highly trained professionals, cartoonists are the backbone of any paper. They can tell a full page story in a box. They can focus on current events or remain generic, but they are still telling a story.

A reader who started reading a paper years ago, may not even be consciously aware that the quality of the paper has gone down (or up), but he/she does know that a cartoon will be there that will make them laugh.

The publisher and editor also knows that even after loyalty has been created, the average reader wants some comic relief as most news is bad news. If the reading gets too rough, he/she can always flip a few pages to the comics and smile.

Unfotunately, the newspaper is not always the best-bet for finding the comic you like. The Far Side, for instance was an experiment. Newspapers traditionally choose family-friendly comics that the family can share and laugh at together. The Far Side targeted a bit more intellectual audience.

Cartoons also can be very influential. Charles “Sparky” Schulz knew that when creating “Peanuts”.

Charlie Brown was the “proverbial loser” who, no matter how successful an adult becomes, still generally always works with that issue of “younger days” when even the dog knew answers more than him/or her.

Gary Larson drew what he felt we were thinking. It was offbeat, and it had a cynical and distorted look at the world. But he knew in his mind we would not find it so distorted at all. In fact, the world really was distorted and he simply knew how to point it out to us with The Far Side.

Many cartoonists have tried to reach the level of another Peanuts or Far Side. It is not an easy task. Schulz had an inventory of tens of thousands of strips over the years and Larson had over 5000 before retiring. Both capitalized on licensing their products onto calendars, greeting cards, mugs, and other products.

Cartooning is not just an art but a science and a shrewd business, following trends and knowing what newspaper readers want. It is all and well that the cartoon may be funny and/or well drawn, but to the savvy newspaper editor or publisher, is it attracting the loyalty of an influential audience? If it is, it is worth its weight in thousands of full-page ads, simply because eventually it will be attracting them, not to mention more readership.