Here’s what I’m doing: Bob Mankoff
TEXT OF STORY
Tess Vigeland:And now the second installment of our series “Here’s What I’m Doing.” Here’s a guy who is taking action with his pad and pencil.
Bob Mankoff: I’m Bob Mankoff. I’m the cartoon editor at the New Yorker magazine and I’ve also been a cartoonist for the magazine since 1977 and I think that probably comprises three or four previous financial crisis’s.
What I’m doing today is looking for the funny side of finance and finding it. I always feel upbeat when times are downbeat because that’s one of the functions of humor — to cope and to not only see the lighter side, but to see another perspective on everything. I did a cartoon two weeks ago when we ran all financial cartoons where it’s a woman saying to sort of a fat cab guy, “A banker, eh? Can you make a living at that?”
Another cartoon that I think summarizes actually most people’s feelings is a guy in a boardroom saying, “And while there’s no reason yet to panic, I think it only prudent that we make preparations to panic.” So I think, even though I’ll be poorer, this is all rich fodder for a humorist.
One of the things I’ve been asked is who can you trust? I actually think you can trust the humorists. One of the functions of humor is as a sort of rough-and-ready B.S. detector.
Vigeland: Bob Mankoff is the cartoon editor at the New Yorker.
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