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"This is the best job in the world," says Terry Mosher, an editorial cartoonist. "It's a wonderful job. We're paid money to poke fun at the system."

But anyone hoping to become an editorial cartoonist had better be prepared for a lot of job hunting and a lot of rejections. Mosher figures there are more heart surgeons than political cartoonists.

"Thirty years ago -- when I was starting out -- it was easier," he says. "There were a lot more publications." Mosher worked hard to get his position at a daily, producing an incredible 26 books of his work.

He's syndicated, which means his cartoons are offered to other newspapers and magazines for a small fee. If one of Mosher's cartoons is very successful, it might be seen in newspapers all across America.

Mosher has been published in the New York Times, National Lampoon, Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, Punch and Time as a freelancer.

He has won a large number of awards for his work -- national newspaper awards, the Quill Awards and five prizes from the International Salon of Caricature.

While Mosher doesn't believe that newspapers are going to disappear, he does believe newspapers are going to have to get smarter and concentrate on what they do better than television. He also sees a great opportunity for young cartoonists opening up on the Internet.

Mosher reads seven newspapers a day and watches the TV news. He eavesdrops on conversations, keeping abreast of what issues are hot. He begins each day with four or five concepts. He keeps a list of possible topics on his computer, updating the list constantly.

By noon, Mosher has his idea and begins to create what will be the next day's cartoon. His intricate drawing style means it takes hours to produce just one cartoon.

Rob Rogers agrees that landing a job as a cartoonist can be tough. "If a cartoonist gets a job with a newspaper, it's a job for life. There's not a high turnover. There are so few jobs that people really hang on to them.

"You have to be there at the right time, when a cartoonist is dying or retiring -- and they usually die first," says Rogers. He is one of two editorial cartoonists at his newspaper.

"I've always done cartoons, since I was a kid. I used to copy cartoons from the comics, stuff like Peanuts. I used to do a lot of drawing when I was in high school. I used to draw cartoons instead of doing my schoolwork!

"In college, a friend said I should take my cartoons to the campus newspaper. They asked me to do some stuff that had to do with campus issues, and after some were printed we got letters from people on both sides of the issue. That was the hook," says Rogers. "I was addicted."

After receiving a master's degree in fine arts, Rogers landed a job with a newspaper in 1984. He worked for that newspaper for eight years, then moved to another one.

These days, he draws four cartoons a week, switching days back and forth with the other staff artist, both being published on Sunday.

Rogers also has experience writing and drawing a local comic strip. He's a member of the United Media syndicate, which resells his cartoons to other newspapers across the country.

Rogers offers this advice to young up-and-coming cartoonists: "Get a well-rounded liberal arts education -- any education -- instead of just concentrating on cartooning. While you're waiting for a cartooning job to come along, you have to be able to do something else to make a living.

"You have to know what's going on. Keep yourself well informed and know how to process the information. And have confidence in yourself. That really improves your work."

Rogers believes would-be cartoonists should do whatever they can to get published. Aspiring cartoonists have to get their work seen, and they have to fill up their scrapbook. Editors aren't going to ask to see a diploma from an art school. They want to see a portfolio.

"Having some good ideas and drawings isn't enough," says Rogers. "Editors want to see work that's been produced. Do it for free. Start that process in high school and you've got an advantage over cartoonists who start later."

Cartoonist Sue Dewar thinks that newspapers are changing, and not necessarily for the better. "Frills are being cut and, unfortunately, cartoonists are seen as a frill," she says.

"Cartoonists are losing their jobs. A lot of papers are figuring, 'Why do we need one on staff? Syndicated cartoonists can be picked up for peanuts.'"

After working in commercial art and cartooning, Dewar started her own company and began freelancing. In 1984, she landed a job with a daily as a full-time editorial cartoonist, winning the 1987 National Business Writing Award for political cartooning.

Dewar's start as a political cartoonist came when she met Andy Donato -- at that time a national newspaper cartoonist -- over dinner. Donato bet her she couldn't come up with three ideas for cartoons before he finished his glass of wine.

"I beat him," says Dewar, "and I got in on the Monday slot [of the newspaper]!"

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