If you’ve been a reader of the Rogue Valley Times online and in print since we launched Feb. 6, 2023, you know we publish and post a lot of political cartoons.

They appear every Wednesday in print on our Opinion page, and new cartoons are plugged in daily at rv-times.com under our online Opinion section.

They can range from highly political to whimsical, from hard-hitting to just plain funny. Our syndicated service from Tribune Content Agency is our main feed, which includes talented cartoonists from around the nation. We also have a la carte service for some cartoons; these tend to be less political and focus on things like major and minor holidays (see Wednesday’s print cartoon on Groundhog Day), notable deaths or conceptual topics like climate change, taxes, TikTok or even arts and entertainment.

As a side note, we published a full-page Further Review graphic in our Wednesday, Jan. 22, print edition that had all sorts of information political cartooning.

There is no set formula for what we choose to run in print or to publish online, but there is one goal: Keep the level of outrage even, and at the very least, try to make people think.

Whether it’s a cartoon about red-faced MAGA supporters blasting “wokeness” or teary-eyed Democrats wringing their hands after the latest presidential election, everything is fair game. It’s as it should be, and we have plenty to choose from.

We know that there are people in our readership sphere who just can’t stand some of the cartoons we’ve chosen — because we’ve heard from them. We also know that for every person who’s gone haywire over something we’ve published, there is another person who’s absolutely loved it. Again, it’s our 50/50 rule in action.

That’s what political cartoonists do — they take a relatively small horizontal space and fill it with impact using images and words. Sometimes, there are no words at all, and that’s when a picture can speak 1,000 words.

It’s an art, really, and we hope our readers take the time to find these little single-frame snapshots of our daily lives that offer a little more opinionated context to what’s happening at home and around the world.

Recent stories in the Times

Here are some — actually many — recent stories that you can only read in the Times, some of which are at times subscriber-exclusive to offer our best reporting to loyal readers:

Medford School Board votes to again censure member Michael Williams

Morse enjoys milestone moments as Cascade Christian boys coach

Birthday gift: Sisters, 100 and 98, celebrate their shared special day together

‘They came out of the blue’: Baby goats are first of a kind for Phoenix High FFA

Central Point library branch, cafe both struck by vehicles late last week

Downtown Medford kids’ museum sets expansion at Carnegie Library

BOYS HOOPS: North Medford finishes strong to upend Grants Pass

Crater crowns 2 champions en route to Reser’s TOC wrestling title

Jon Galfano brings old-school rock, piano pieces to Rogue Valley audiences

Winter in Candyland event returns, brings board game setting to life

If you haven’t subscribed to the Times, which can include digital-only or a print edition/digital subscription, we invite you to sign up at rv-times.com/subscribe or by calling us at 800-781-3214. For businesses looking to advertise in the Times — online and in print — reach out to our advertising staff at sales@rv-times.com.

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To receive our breaking news newsletter, go to rv-times.com and find the menu on the upper left side of our homepage, then find “Sign Up for Newsletters.” There’s a lot more there than just breaking news, too.

— Troy Heie, editor; theie@rv-times.com / 458-488-2038