Let the laugh not be the goal: editors, cartoonists face the same issues.

A member of the audience asked, after a recent talk: "Do you ever get ideas from watching Jay Leno?" I replied that I never looked to the Tonight Show comedian for inspiration--and had no plans to start.

"Besides," I remember saying, "I pride myself in coming up with my own ideas." I then went on to profess that the Lenos of the world attract viewers with rapid-fire one-liners, silly gags--gags that, if not meaningless, hang by the thinnest thread of logic.

That's not my brand of satire, I said. I want substance, depth, insightful commentary!

"Yes," said the questioner. "But Leno makes me laugh."

What I wanted to argue--but didn't because I was feeling extra polite that day--was that it was exactly the Leno-ization of American satire that was making my job more difficult. (To say nothing of countless other outside forces such as the declining quality of both local and network news and, dare I say, newspaper reporting in general.) I mean, how does one compete with brief, funny one-liners? And besides, within the profession, too many cartoonists have become nothing more than talk show monologue illustrators.

The average American is busy, busy, busy, we are relentlessly reminded. Kids aren't developing the reading habits of their parents. Too much TV, too much computer, too much everything but reading the newspaper. Editors across the land gnash teeth and scratch heads, attempting fresh ways to reach readers, younger audiences, doing what they can to keep the business relevant in a busy, crazy world.

Meanwhile, some cartoonists toil away in isolation at their drawing tables, fretting over the same thing. How do we grab the reader? Is it with simpler, funnier ideas? Do we add color? Is the Internet our savior?

In this symposium:

* Rex Babin, a longtime defender of the local cartoon, tells us how he--along with his editor--has challenged himself to go beyond the average news columns and, indeed, beyond the gag mentality that is so pervasive in cartooning today.

* Mike Keefe explores the new media angle of cartooning with his call to action for animated color cartoons.

* Henry Payne expresses his frustration with the old media--and with how politically charged reportage can impede the work of a conservative cartoonist.

* Daryl Cagle tells us of the declining numbers in the ranks of professional editorial cartoonists and, in contrast, about how some cartoonists are finding a niche on the Internet. He also has a word about how circulation managers might take better advantage of newspaper-in-education programs.

Perhaps the new electronic approaches are the answer. Or perhaps they are merely a tool, a whiz-bang method to eventually entice readers to pick up a newspaper. Or maybe the cartoonist who occasionally dons a reporter's hat is a member of a new breed of ink-slingers (if not a throwback to the Bill Mauldin school of cartooning), going beyond the gag, truth-seeking with pen in hand.

It is in these cartoonists that optimism for cartooning can be found, as they root out substance in their work, quietly scribbling, scratching their pens, and in some cases scrolling and clicking. These cartoonists challenge their inky brethren and, indeed, themselves.

An editorial cartoonist should be more than the opinion page's comedic relief, waking up each morning not as a jester but rather a rough-and-tumble member of the editorial board, armed with ideas, meditations, observations, and a healthy dose of outrage, ready to speak the truth, prepared to let the chips fall where they may no matter how politically incorrect, no matter how few people end up laughing. No matter how few times the cartoon is picked up for reprints or awards.

I believe that it is this exchange of ideas, substance, depth, meaning, in cartoons that will win out. Like truth, satire will find a way. The laugh should never be the goal; the laugh should be only a vehicle for getting to the truth.

And to be clear, I am no prude when it comes to a funny monologue. Be funny, Jay Leno. Tell jokes. But let the jokesters have their gags and let the editorial cartoonists of America be journalists first and journalists of the highest order. If that requires seeking ideas beyond the headlines, shining a light where reporters dare not go, by all means do it. If it includes slogging into uncharted territory, doing independent investigative work, research, so be it. The pen (or mouse) is only as powerful as the idea.

Jeff Koterba is editorial page cartoonist for the Omaha World-Herald. His work is distributed by King Features Syndicate. E-mail [e-mail]