However, other factors are at play; some of the gag cartoon work published by newspapers – I exclude periodical magazines from this – over the decades has allowed the form to become degraded, partially because of the erosion of fees paid for speculative gag work leading to the best gag cartoonists exiting the arena. Tabloid readers might be forgiven for thinking that all gag cartoons were of the “fierce wife with rolling pin” or “desert island” variety. Great gag cartoonists do still exist (and some even thrive), but it is far more difficult for them to do so.

The public will see the diversity and breadth of cartooning talent that exists in this country.

I think there may even be an argument for caricaturists (those that produce them to accompany newspaper articles) may feel more aggrieved than other cartoonists over being omitted from this category, since they too are usually involved in journalistic reporting and topicality, but then often they are the same bod that does the editorial cartoons anyway.