Paul Zanetti

Paul Zanetti (born 8 September 1961 in Wollongong) is a political cartoonist based in Australia.He was the youngest paid political cartoonist on a major metropolitan newspaper in Australia.While still at school,he regularly contributed to The Sun newspaper in Sydney,from the age of 16 years.

Personal life :

He recalls sitting at the back of the classroom at school where his unflattering sketches of his teachers were confiscated and he was sent to sit out in the corridor.It was this reaction from authority that inspired him to draw cartoons for a living.His dad wanted him to get a proper job.He started out at age 16, while at school,contributing cartoons to the Sydney ‘Sun’,the youngest regularly published cartoonist in Australia. Zanetti was offered an art department cadet ship where he learned very well how to touch up page three girls,detail the weather maps and colour-in the black squares in the crossword puzzles but not much about cartooning.

Professional life:

In 1980, he joined The Sun art department in Sydney where he continued to contribute cartoons. Eight months later he accepted the full-time cartooning position on the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph(Australia’s largest circulating newspaper). This position had been vacated by Bill Mitchell, who had moved to The Australian, taking Larry Pickering’s position. Zanetti replaced the Tele’s cartoonist, Bill Mitchell who replaced Pickering on The Australian who retired at age 38 to live a cartoon-free, semi-retired life of tomato-growing and race horse training.

In 1990, Zanetti moved to the United States to study syndication. On his return, he pioneered political cartoon syndication in Australia,appearing in newspapers throughout Australia and internationally.In 1992 he pioneered editorial cartoon syndication throughout Australia and has been published in more newspapers than any other Australian editorial cartoonist. Zanetti’s cartoons have also been syndicated internationally since 1985 through the New York Times Cartoonists and Writers Syndicate and currently via Cagle.

In 1993,he co-founded Australian Newspaper Features (ANF) Pty Ltd,Australia’s first content syndicator of features and columns by household Australian names,Ray Martin (What Does Ray Say?), John Laws(Lawsie),Rene Rivkin (Taking Stock),Angry Anderson (Getting Angry),Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin(Life With Fatty)and John-Michael Howson from Los Angeles (Hollywood Hotline).In the US, Zanetti’s cartoons are syndicated through Cagle Cartoons.

Others :

He became a regular on daytime TV Shows,The Mike Walsh Show and The Midday Show as well as a popular guest speaker,drawing for various corporate events and charity functions.

Award :

In 1983 Zanetti received the Walkley Award for best editorial cartoon,at age 23.