Reply #9: OK, so the Q and A is up at the Wash post- Good Reading!

[n2doc]

Gene Weingarten: Good afternoon.

One question many of you are asking involves the cover the magazine: Yes, Trudeau drew that specifically for The Post. The general idea was mine - having B.D., with his missing leg, ruminating on the nature of "The Creator." There's a funny story behind this.

Once my editor, Tom the Butcher had approved of the idea, I needed to broach it to Trudeau. We were together in Tucson at the Vietvet conference. But first, I phoned Tom to work out one final detail. Here is how the onversation went:

Me: So, how much can we pay him?

TtheB: Pay him?

Me: For the illustration.

TtheB: I don't think we can pay him anything. We can't pay the subjects of our stories. You know that.

Me: We're not paying for the story! We're paying a world-famous artist for a cover illustration.

TtheB: I know. But it looks like we're paying for the story. We can't do it.

Me:

TtheB:

Me: Okay, let's do a little thought experiment, shall we?

TtheB: Let's!

Me: Do you agree that an original illustration by Garry Trudeau is an item of some intrinsic value? Worth thousands of dollars, in fact?

TtheB: Sure.

Me: Okay, then. So, by asking him to do this illustration for free, we are in effect asking him to give us money.

TtheB:

Me: In other words, HE is paying US to write the story about him.

TtheB:

Me:

TtheB: Okay, this is above my pay grade.

So Tom the Butcher went to discuss this with great and powerful people at The Post. Scenarios were discussed. Options were weighed. And so forth. Finally, it was decided that we would not pay Trudeau for the art, but we would donate a substantial amount of money, in his name, to the charity of his choice.

So, that's what happened. I tell this story mostly because it illustrates the sometimes comical super-serious degrees to which this newspaper is willing to wrestle with issues of ethics and angels on pinheads and so forth -- and also why I would not want to work for anyone else. Trudeau, by the way, took my idea for the cover and improved my wording hugely, giving it Mamet-like sparseness.

He's donating the money to Fisher House, which is a program to provide free or low-cost housing for the families who are visiting injured soldiers.

In case you're feeling generous yourself:

Fisher House Foundation

1401 Rockville Pike

Suite 600

Rockville, MD 20852

I've gotten many interesting letters so far. This is my favorite:

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A while back John Kerry sent me a thick packet of neatly copied Doonesbury strips. It was B.D's story and, unknown to John, I'd been following it closely. John sent it without comment, but I knew instantly why he had.

Like B.D. it takes some of us longer to deal with it than others. Some of us never do.

Nice piece on Trudeau, the therapist. The letter was from Jim Rassmann.


more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/10/20/DI2006102000779.html