The nation's editorial cartoonists ("political cartoonists") have their own professional organization, the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. In fact, we just met over the Fourth of July week in Washington D.C. for the group's 50th annual convention, which was a blast.

We discuss the state of the industry -- usually a depressing situation as more and more jobs get cut (more to be written about that), although this session was more upbeat and proactive, looking for ways to improve our threatened profession's standing amid a newspaper industry going through wrenching economic changes. We also socialize, listen to speakers (such as columnists Helen Thomas and Mark Shields, Washington Post investigative reporter Dana Priest, and Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich). We also drink beer and socialize.

The AAEC has its own web site, and it's a great one, with daily and archived cartoons by hundreds of cartoonists, searchable databases, info about cartooning and cartoons in education, industry news and more. It can be seen here:
AAEC web site