Homeless make a buck selling Humor Times

We've been working with an organization that helps out homeless people in San Francisco, giving them copies of the Humor Times to sell on the street. It gives them a way to make a few bucks, while spreading the title around and hopefully making a few new fans of the paper.

It's feels good to be able to help unfortunate folks help themselves. People walking on the street like to help out homeless people more when they see that they are being productive in some way. They might even discover they like political humor too!

Call it our little stimulus package -- stimulating the economy on the street, while stimulating your funny bone at the same time!

We hope to be able to duplicate the effort in other localities. Let us know if you have any good ideas for us. And if you see a homeless man or woman offering you the Humor Times one day, don't ignore them, help them out. Buy a copy, and then share it with a friend.

The good vibes will just keep spreading out that way! And Lord knows, we need more of that these days. Thanks.

18th Anniversary Issue of the HUMOR TIMES out now!

I'm very proud and excited to announce that the 18th Anniversary Issue of the Humor Times is out now!

That's right, the Humor Times has come of age. It's been a great ride, and we're looking forward to the next 18 years, assuming the world doesn't implode before then. The way things are going, who knows?

But that's exactly why it's a good thing the Humor Times is here to lighten things up! We tackle current issues with gusto, look at the news sideways, and lampoon politicians with glee -- all just to poke fun... at the media, at our elected officials, at celebrities and ultimately, at ourselves.

Talk about a stimulus -- we've been stimulating the nation's funny bone since 1991!

If you've never seen a copy of the Humor Times, I tell people it's kind of like the Daily Show in print. It's a completely irreverent look at politics and current events, so it never gets stale.

Right now, we've got an Anniversary Special going -- sign up for a year's subscription (12 issues), delivered right to your door, for only $15.95 ($2.00 off)!

Just use "HTanniv" in the discount code blank to receive your discount!

Or, try it out for three issues for only $4.95 (reg. $5.95)!

Do you prefer getting your reading material online? Sign up for the PDF edition of the Humor Times for only $7.95/year (reg. $9.95)!

Of course, no matter what you do, you'll want to sign up for our free "Cartoon of the Week and More" email newsletter, and we hope you visit our website at www.humortimes.com often!

The "Dangers of Debt" Cartoon Contest

The Consumers Union wants to encourage young people to talk about the Dangers of Debt. They are seeking submissions of editorial cartoons, from 18-25 year-olds, that speak to the "Dangers of Debt." Your cartoon can cover debt problems you've experienced, ones you know about from your family and friends, or the ones we are all reading about every day in the news. The deadline is Nov. 3rd. More information here.

First issue of new era is out!

With the new year in 2008, we are beginning a new era here at the Humor Times. For nearly 17 years, the publication has been available free all over the Sacramento area, supported by advertising.

Over the last few years, the advertising revenue of this local edition began to wane, until we were actually losing money on it. This can be explained by any number of factors, including the fact that print advertising is down nationally, due in large part to the rise of the internet. The Bush economy, too, must share a big part of the blame, as small businesses are struggling all over, while the huge corporations rake in record profits. (And niche publications are very dependent on small, local businesses.) Whatever the reasons, however, we decided to end the free edition and concentrate solely on the national, subscription edition of the Humor Times. The current issue – out now – is the first without the accompanying local version.

In the final few issues of the free edition, we invited our longtime Sacramento readers to join our growing ranks of satisfied subscribers, and to our delight, many have. We hope even more will, as they begin to miss the free version. The subscription edition has always had a lot more content, and is well worth the paltry $17.95/year (12 issues) we ask for it, we believe! You can even get the downloadable PDF version for a mere $9.95/year!

And right now, you can get $2 OFF the domestic (USA) and PDF (available internationally) rates, just by ordering a subscription and entering "HTnews" (without the quotes) in the Discount Code blank! Hurry, this offer is limited!

If you've never seen the publication, you can order a free sample for a limited time to check it out. It is a 24-page tabloid size magazine, full of the best political humor you'll find gathered together anywhere! It features the finest in editorial cartoons, humor columns and "fake news." If you like Comedy Central's Daily Show and Cobert Report, for example, or political humor of any kind, you'll love the Humor Times!

Humor Times in the news! Ending free edition in Sacramento as of 2008

Here's a recent article about the Humor Times ceasing it's free version in Sacramento as of December 2007, after 16 years in the capitol city – available only by subscription as of 2008.

Sacramentans have busted a gut at the scandals, boondoggles and foibles of public figures for 16 and two-thirds years—and for free no less. Come January, loyal readers of the Humor Times, formerly the Comic Press News, will have to pay for the monthly collection of political cartoons and columns launching slings and arrows at the stars of the nation’s current events.
Read more here...

Also, publisher/editor James Israel was interviewed on Access Sacramento, broadcast Oct. 1, 2007. The interview is also about the end of the free version of the paper, as well as the art of political cartooning, etc. Listen to it here:
Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2