AWARD WINNING CARTOONIST LEAVES STATE NEWSPAPER

The man behind some of the greatest cartoons ever published in South Carolina is leaving The State newspaper. News broke this morning that award-winning editorial cartoonist Robert Ariail would be resigning this week — yet another sign of the downfall of print media.

Ariail, a finalist for journalism’s coveted Pulitzer Prize in 1995 and 2000, turned down a part-time job that had been offered in the wake of cost-cutting measures taken by the paper’s parent, The McClatchy Company.

Last week, the paper laid off 38 people — 11 percent of its work force — and cut employee wages 2.5 percent to 10 percent. Ariail, who joined The State in 1984, said he planned to continue his work through United Media syndicate, which serves more than 600 newspapers and magazines.

“I hope to find another job in editorial cartooning,” said Ariail, whose last day at The State is Thursday. “I’m 53. It’s difficult to remake myself, and I don’t want to.” [The State]

Like I’ve said before, this could be a great opportunity for a lot of these “traditional media” folks. And I’m glad to see Ariail is embracing that. Because the guy is very talented and I wish him the best.