JOURNALISTIC CARTOONS: CHARACTERISTICS, ELEMENTS, EXAMPLES - LITERATURE - 2025

The journalistic cartoon is a journalistic genre that interprets news in a graphic and synthesized way, with a critical point of view. Its objective is to communicate with humor, irony or sarcasm a fact or event of a political, economic or social nature, disseminating it in printed media, whether these are newspapers, weeklies, etc.

In the printed media, a cartoon is also called a cartoon that occupies a prominent place in the newspaper (generally on opinion pages); in this, the great challenge is to convey an understandable message with a single image (which may or may not be accompanied by text).

Journalistic cartoon from 2007 in favor of the «clean party».

There are also strips and comics, which contain several paintings, in which a slightly more extensive story is told. With the technological advances of the last decades, the cartoon and other elements of the printed newspapers have also been transferred to the digital media.

Every cartoon is an exaggerated or distorted graphic representation of reality. The journalistic cartoon seeks to capture the rapid attention of a large number of people (readers / users) who, without having to read a news article or journalistic article, can capture and understand the message.

The journalistic cartoon always expresses the personal opinion of its author, which in most cases is in accordance with the editorial line of the medium that publishes it. Generally seeks to criticize and ridicule, although on some occasions it can also exalt or extol.

Characteristics of the journalistic cartoon

Darwin's caricature. Author: John Tenniel. Published in the satirical magazine The Hornet in 1876.

1- Address political, economic or social issues that interest the reading community.

2- Each medium usually has one or more permanent cartoonists who periodically publish their cartoons.

3- In general, it is always the same size and is always located in the same place (page, body and angle) of the newspaper, weekly or printed medium that publishes it.

4- It is signed by its author with name or pseudonym.

5- Use the exaggeration of features as the main resource.

6- It always deals with a highly relevant topic at the time it is published.

7- It is completely subjective and expresses the personal position of its author.

8- As it is not an impartial or objective product, it seeks to influence the reader; This can produce empathy or disapproval, depending on the degree of affinity you have with the message and the way it was treated.

9- Being a product with very current content, it is required that both the sender and the receiver know about the subject so that the message fulfills its communication objective.

Functions of the journalistic cartoon

Cartoon of Gustave Eiffel published in 1887 in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. Its authors criticized the ugliness of the tower and Eiffel said it would be the largest man-made building.

1- Communicate a concept or idea from a critical position.

2- Show the facts in a humorous or sarcastic way.

3- Attacking characters in public life, highlighting their features and / or behaviors, mostly negative ones, and ridiculing them.

4- Call the reader's attention to a fact or event of relevance to him and his community.

5- Put on the table certain matters of public interest and encourage the reader to inquire further, ask questions or generate collective opinions.

6- Facilitate the knowledge or understanding of the fact through graphic resources and exaggeration.

7- Disseminate the editorial opinion of the author and the medium that publishes it.

8- Criticize, censor, protest or simply comment on a relevant topic.

Elements of the journalistic cartoon

1- Characters

They can be real or fictitious, permanent protagonists of the space or eventual and specific, which appear in response to a situation.

If they represent people in real life, they will surely be easily identifiable by the recipient; This will be achieved with the exaggeration or marked emphasis on the most peculiar characteristics of the person to be caricatured.

2- Gestures and expressions

They are great collaborators in transmitting the message, especially if words are dispensed with.

In this case, facial expressions, body postures, etc., will also be enlarged and highly marked to send a direct and univocal message.

3- Visual metaphor

It is the basic and characteristic element of the vignette; transmit ideas through drawings and ensure that those ideas are understood by the receiver in the same way and with the same intention that the author had when creating them.

4- Environment: place, context or environment in which the story takes place

In some cases it can become more important than the characters themselves. In others it can be so null that it is simply an empty background that highlights the character and their actions.

5- Plane

It is the frame used to make the drawing, be it two-dimensional or three-dimensional; it can be a general plan, a close-up or a detailed plan, among others.

6- Color

Many journalistic cartoons, especially that of printed newspapers, are usually in black and white, due to the limitation of printing resources.

With the arrival of color to the presses and much more, after the appearance of digital newspapers, color began to take over cartoons, with all the advantages that this entails in transmitting the message.

7- Verbal language

It is the written text that the cartoon can include for the better understanding of the story.

Dialog boxes can be used, in which the characters speak, or external boxes, where the thoughts and opinions of the narrator are expressed, in this case, the cartoonist. These boxes are called balloons or sandwiches.

8- Messages

The message can be explicit or implicit, that is, expressed clearly and precisely so that the reader can understand the meaning without having more information, or on the contrary a hidden, encrypted message or that could only be understood if the reader has prior information about the event in question.

Examples of newspaper cartoons

- Climate change

This cartoon was published on October 6, 2019 in the Spanish newspaper El País. Its author is Flavita Banana and it illustrates in a simple and almost childish way the problem of climate change worldwide.

In a context in which ecological activism is expanding, Greta Thunberg appears as the leader of this movement. Therefore, the illustrator takes advantage of the pun on the name of the young activist with that of the popular character Hansel and Gretel and the chocolate house.

- Coronavirus epidemic

Published in the Danish daily Jyllands Posten on January 27, 2020, the cartoon refers to the origin of the coronavirus pneumonia epidemic. The first case was reported in the city of Wuhan in China, hence the national flag is represented by replacing the five revolutionary stars with a representation of the deadly virus.

It was widely criticized in the Asian country, asking the media to issue an apology to "a people insulted and injured." However, Jyllands Posten refused such request.

The news portal had been involved in similar controversies before due to cartoons of Muhammad that unleashed a brutal wave of violence in Arab countries.

- Electoral inequity

Caricature of the journalist José Hernández, Mexican cartoonist for the magazine Chahuistle (Pérez, 2015). This cartoon criticizes the non-admission of the clown candidate "Lagrimita" to the municipal presidency of Guadalajara (Jalisco), in 2015.

The author points out that despite having rejected the clown, they admitted other unsuitable candidates for public office and also circus qualities, such as magicians and trapeze artists.

- Political Power of Venezuela

In this cartoon, by the Colombian cartoonist Vladdo, he portrays the appropriation of the three branches of political power in Venezuela by its late president Hugo Chávez (Rankings.com.co, 2010).

The cartoon ironically deals with the way in which Chávez appropriated the direction and control of all public institutions in his country, while pointing out that they continued to be free and autonomous.

- Declarations of war

This cartoon was published a few days after the September 11 attack took place in the United States. It portrays the declarations of war made historically by enemy powers against the United States (AHC, 2011).

Each declaration of war was accompanied by an attack against some of the most representative institutions of the power of the United States, unleashing a war with it.

In this cartoon you can see a Statue of Liberty crying and how the military power of the United States suffered from lower technology terrorist initiatives.

- United States Presidential Elections 2016

This caricature was published by cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher for The Economist newspaper in 2016, days after Donald Trump was elected as the new president of the United States.

The cartoon reflects the collective sentiment of rejection expressed by many Americans in the face of the election of Trump as their leader.

This character is considered by many to be the antagonistic icon of freedom that the culture of the United States defends so much.

For this reason, the Statue of Liberty refuses to kiss him and defends herself against him, pointing out that the next four years will be very long (KAL, 2016).

- European Union Crisis

This journalistic cartoon was made by cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher in 2016, for the British newspaper The Economist (OLIVEIRA, 2016).

The cartoon refers to the current crisis that the European Union is experiencing, where the nationalism of each country predominates beyond a collective European feeling.

Thanks to the political, economic, social and cultural differences between countries, the European Union has been dramatically affected in recent years.

To the differences between countries must be added the differences existing within each of these countries, which also aggravate the health of the Union.

- Brexit

This cartoon was published by the BBC news network in June last year, after the news about Brexit came to light (Cartoon Movement, 2016).

Brexit is the resignation process that began last year, after the United Kingdom invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which indicates the individual freedom of each country to withdraw from the Union when it deems it appropriate.

The cartoon shows a fragile European Union, from which any member can separate. It is also seen how Germany could be the next member country to withdraw from the union, having an economy that is clearly stronger than that of the other countries.

- Wikileaks

This cartoon was made by the Colombian cartoonist Matador, after different secrets kept by the United States came to light (Macondo, 2010).

Wikileaks is an international non-profit organization. This organization has been operating for more than 10 years and constantly issues anonymous reports through its website.

The cartoon shows how Uncle Sam reacts once wikileaks decides to leak information that may affect the United States. In this way, it decides to end its existence "anonymously".

- Mexican deputies

Cartoon made by the Mexican cartoonist Ricardo Clement, in 2015.

At the beginning of 2015, Mexico faced a huge economic crisis, due to the increase in gasoline prices.

Faced with this situation, the deputies of the bench of the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (ALDF) announced the implementation of various measures of budget discipline and austerity.

The austerity measures implied the saving of more than 8 million dollars in expenses of services and supplies consumed in sessions of the bench.

However, 11 months after the announcement was made, no measures had yet been implemented.

The cartoon shows how the deputies want to cut the budget, at the cost of the taxpayers' welfare, but they themselves refuse to be part of it.

- Gasoline in Mexico

Cartoon published in January of this year regarding the excessive increase in gasoline prices in Mexico (Web page Leon, 2017).

Caused by the energy reform proposed by President Enrique Peña Nieto, who sought to "revive" Pemex, the Mexican oil company.

With this reform, the price of gasoline was increased by 20%. This affected the national economy in a profound way, since all basic services and food in the country went up in price.

The cartoon represents Enrique Peña Nieto, threatening his town with a gasoline dispenser, holding a sack of money in one hand.

- Missile crisis

This cartoon was published during the 60s, as a reaction to the Missile Crisis that took place in 1962 between the Soviet Union, the United States and Cuba (DOMÍNGUEZ, 2014).

This crisis consisted of the discovery of Soviet military bases on Cuban soil by the United States. This discovery created tension between the two nuclear powers, and almost caused a new war to break out.

The cartoon illustrates how the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union debate each other, sitting on a pair of missiles that could explode at any moment.

- Corruption scandals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

The image represents cases of corruption and human rights violations so that Brazil could meet FIFA's requirements to host the World Cup. A subject of dubious morals holds the logo of the Brazilian candidacy upside down, in a sign that money is more than football.

Sport has always been a source of controversy due to the links with corruption that affect everything directly or indirectly linked. FIFA, the highest football body, is an example of an institution always under suspicion for possible match fixes or the inclusion of the choice of venues for the World Cup.

That was the case of Brazil, which also indirectly generated that many industries benefited from the most important sporting event in the world together with the Olympic Games.

The image is by the Brazilian cartoonist Dalcio Machado.

Resources used by the cartoonist

1- Hyperbole: Exaggerates the physical or psychological characteristics of a person. Use exaggerated language.

2- Irony: Figure that implies the opposite of what is said.

3- Metaphor: Substitution of one element for another with which it has a certain resemblance. Use figurative language.

4- Onomatopoeia: words that imitate the sound of a thing, animal or event to give emphasis or better explain the scene.

5- Animalization: attributes animal traits to people.

6- Objectification: It gives people traits of objects.

7- Comparison: Relationships of similarities between different actors.

References

1. The journalistic cartoon. Recovered from estudioraprender.com
2. Carlos Abreu (2001). The cartoon: history and definitions. Recovered from saladeprensa.org
3. The caricature, characteristics. Recovered from creacionliteraria.net
4. Cartoon, elements. Recovered from creacionliteraria.net
5. Charlie Hebdo. Recovered from es.wikipedia.org
6. What is Charlie Hebdo like, the satirical magazine that suffered a deadly attack in France? Article of January 7, 2015. Recovered from bbc.com