Universal Press Syndicate

Universal Press Syndicate
Syndication
Industry Media
Fate merged into Uclick
Founded 1970 (1970)
Founders John McMeel and Jim Andrews
Defunct 2009 (2009)
Services lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips
Owner Universal Uclick
Parent Andrews McMeel Universal
Divisions (international) Atlantic Syndication

Universal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebert and News of the Weird. Founded in 1970, it was merged in July 2009 with Uclick (which published its comics on GoComics) to form Universal Uclick.[1]

History

Universal Press Syndicate was founded by John McMeel and Jim Andrews in 1970, two graduates of Notre Dame. Their early syndication success came as a result of Andrews reading the Yale Daily News. While clipping a column by a priest, he was distracted by Garry Trudeau's Bull Tales comic strip on the facing page. When Trudeau's Doonesbury debuted as a daily strip in two dozen newspapers on October 26, 1970, it was the first strip from Universal Press Syndicate, and a Sunday strip was launched March 21, 1971. Circulation of Doonesbury eventually expanded to more than 1,400 newspapers internationally.[2] At first, ownership of the strips was in the hands of both the artist and the syndicate, but beginning in 1990, Universal Press gave them full rights to their respective works. The company also instituted a policy that says any cartoonist who has been with them for five years or more receives four weeks a year of vacation.[3]

Along with editorial cartoonists Ben Sargent, Pat Oliphant, Tom Toles, Glenn McCoy, Ted Rall, Matt Davies and Don "Bad Reporter" Asmussen, UPS syndicates crossword puzzles and games edited by Timothy Parker.

Universal's international syndication arm, Atlantic Syndication, was founded in 1933 by Evening Post Publishing Company as Editors Press Service. In 2004, Universal acquired Editors Press Service from Evening Post Publishing Company and renamed it Atlantic Syndication.[4]

Some syndicated works

Comic strips

Past and present UPS strips include:

Columns and columnists

Past and present UPS columns and columnists include:

References

  1. ↑ Gardner, Alan. "Universal Press Syndicate and Uclick Merge". The Daily Cartoonist, July 8, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Doonesbury: Drawing and Quartering for Fun and Profit". Time, February 9, 1976.
  3. ↑ The Lee Salem Interview, Hogan's Alley #7
  4. ↑ Gardner, Alan. "Atlantic Syndication Combines with Universal Uclick". The Daily Cartoonist. April 7, 2010.
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