Magazines Run Mushy Editorial Cartoons

Romenesko points to an LA Times piece arguing that when it comes to editorial cartoons, editors prefer mush:

Week in, week out, editors at these publications, and at many others across the country, fill space with our lamest throwaway stuff. This has gone on so long that an entire generation of readers and, sadly, editors, seem to regard editorial cartoons as just another infotainment medium, something to break up the gray type and give a comforting chuckle. If the cartoon mentions sex, sports or celebrities, so much the better.

The article argues that editors are just scared of angering readers, so they pass on [update: 'pass on' in the sense of 'decline,' not in the sense of 'forward'] the hard-hitting stuff such as this.