Cartoonist Visual Communication through Online Political Cartoon in the Era of the Government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

ABSTRACT: Cartoonists are communicators who convey the communication message through cartoons. Since the Reform period, freedom of expression for cartoonists got fresh air along with the enactment of legislation known as Law Number 40 Year 1999 on the press, which stated that the freedom of the press is the rights of all citizens. Furthermore, the presence of new media as a forum for cartoonists to convey his ideas has changed communication patterns become more open and engage the wider participation of the reader. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), as a political figure, was giving better freedom for media expressions, including political cartoons. Using the method of discourse analysis, this study examines the cartoonist visual communication through a political cartoon featuring a cartoon of President SBY. The result of this research shows that there are interactive participants that serves as a the act of communication for cartoon and the readers. In this digital era, cartoonist did not use labels or names of cartoon characters, because the cartoon depiction using digital tracing techniques. Visual messages are delivered directly to the figures reported, in this case called subjective modality. Later most, visual communications done by cartoonists can be said very freely, although he was talking about an incumbent President.