Douglas MacGregor
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is true, News-Press editorial cartoonist Doug MacGregor has generated more than a million words of commentary. Whether it's roasting Congress over annual pork-barrel legislation, grinding lawmakers in Tallahassee over partisan politics, or criticizing county commissioners for caving into special interests, Doug has covered it!
For twenty-five years Doug has been creating five editorial cartoons a week. Over six thousand cartoons later you can still find him inking away at his drawing board meeting the deadline for the next day's News-Press.
A 1979 graduate of Syracuse University, Doug began his cartooning career drawing sports cartoons for the Daily Orange student newspaper. In 1980 he moved to Eastern Connecticut and became editorial cartoonist for the Norwich Bulletin. For eight years he drew for all sections of the newspaper, but was best known for his caustic cartoons on the editorial page. During that time his work could also be seen in USA Today with an occasional guest cartoon on the opinion page.
In 1982, a cartoon Doug drew about Ronald Reagan was selected for the cover of the annual book, Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year.
In the winter of 1987 while visiting his folks in Port Charlotte, Doug applied for a job at The News-Press. His chance to thaw out his drawing hand arrived the following year when a position opened up in the graphics department.
He has been drawing daily editorial cartoons including his local favorite "MacGregor's Boulevard" on Sunday ever since.
Doug also draws a local comic strip called, "Sunny-Side Up" which satirizes the lifestyle and idiosyncrasies of southwest Florida. The comic strip appears Thursday in the Lifestyles section, Friday in Coasting and in the popular Tropicalia section on Sunday.
Doug self-syndicates his editorial cartoons to several newspapers around the state of Florida. He has published four collections of his cartoon work including his most recent, Doug MacGregor's Cartoons: A Twenty-five Year Retrospective.
He also gets out from behind his desk regularly and volunteers at local schools, libraries and hospitals. He draws with local students and teaches them the importance of reading a daily newspaper. He has also won several state and national awards for his cartoons including Best of Gannett eight times. Doug is a member of both the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists and the National Cartoonist Society. He also plays a mean harmonica in a local popular blues band.
You can also view his cartoons at tThe News-Press website at: news-press.com (go to opinion page)
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