Robot 6
Quote of the day | Ted Rall on working for free
Does the Society pay any of its staff? Does it rent office space? Does it buy office supplies? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” please consider paying cartoonists and other creators. Cartooning is hard work, and it deserves recompense.
– Ted Rall, when the American Cancer Society asked cartoonists to create three characters for a smoking-cessation campaign, by Nov. 1, for free. Rall’s response is polite but pointed, noting that the CEO of the American Cancer Society makes $914,906 per year. and advising them that many cartoonists resent being asked to work for free, so this could backfire on them.
(via The Beat, where a fascinating discussion ensues in the comments section)
5 Comments
Matt Rower
October 19, 2011 at 9:37 am
Hate to nitpick, but there’s an extra “http://” in the Beat link…
Kevin Melrose
October 19, 2011 at 9:39 am
That’s not nitpicking; we appreciate you pointing it out.
Matt Rower
October 19, 2011 at 10:06 am
Good to know. I’m just never sure whether that’s the kind of thing that should be pointed out publicly or through email.
Vinegar Tom
October 19, 2011 at 4:17 pm
This seems to be happening all over the place: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/obama-solicits-designers-to-work-unpaid-on-jobs-poster-20111019
Kevin
October 19, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Rall is correct here. It’s one thing if the involved org is running on a shoe-string budget, but there is no difference between office professionals drawing a paycheck from the ACS and professional cartoonists who expect a payday for their work.