The Baltimore Sun turned 175 years old in 2012 and tried something unusual as its anniversary year ended. Cartoonist Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher explained in an email how Sunday’s front page came about:
I am the longtime cartoonist for The Economist (34 years) and was the daily cartoonist for The Baltimore Sun 1988-2006 when I downsized.
In January of this year, the Sun, under new leadership, tempted me back to contribute a weekly cartoon. When discussing the terms of our new arrangement I had suggested we explore innovative ways to maximize the power a cartoon can bring to the paper.
Two recent projects for The Economist inspired our idea for The Sun’s front page.
In recent years I have created an annual award-winning wall Kalendar for The Economist that offers a complex view of the month ahead.Also, just last week, I completed the cover for the end-of-year edition of The Economist, that was a look back at the year’s lunacy for the international audience.
I was approached by The Sun’s editorial page editor Andy Green and executive editor Mary Corey to create a full page version for The Sun. I started on Wednesday last week and finished Saturday midday.
The only problem we anticipated was if a big news story broke on Saturday. If so, the back up plan was to run the cartoon on the front later in the week.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
- A key explains the events shown. (Front page appears courtesy of the Newseum.)
