the war on syndication?

syn·di·cate n.

1. An association of people or firms authorized to undertake a duty or transact specific business.
   
2. An association of people or firms formed to engage in an enterprise or promote a common interest.
   
3. A loose affiliation of gangsters in control of organized criminal activities.
   
4. An agency that sells articles, features, or photographs for publication in a number of newspapers or periodicals simultaneously.
   
5. A company consisting of a number of separate newspapers; a newspaper chain.
   
6. The office, position, or jurisdiction of a syndic or body of syndics.

Beeing a noob at comics compared to a lot of the guys out there, I wanted to do some research on how an artist can publish his work and make a decent living from it. There isn't much information on this for the local industry but there is a lot you can find on it specific to the US market.

This was how I stumbled upon the trouble brewing in the US comic strip industry. PVP's Scott Kurtz had plenty to say on this matter during his panel at the San Diego Comic Con.

Of course, I'm almost sure the phenomenon in question concerning newspaper syndication has primarily to do with the US market. But this was interesting to read nontheless, considering the shifting in trends towards web publishing and subscriptions and the increasing reluctance of artists to sell ownership of their copyright, merchandising, and marketing to syndicates who reap the lion's share of benefits from their creative talent without offering much in return.