The National Public Radio show Market Place ran a story this morning about Scott Kurtz and his efforts to bring his web comic PVP into newspapers for free.

This has been a topic of some contention. Some syndicated cartoonists point towards Kurtz’s effort as a potential problem should syndicates ever see value in including web site addresses with the artist’s comics and begin to charge for the currently common practice. Since Scott’s main source of revenue is from advertising on his site he simply asks that any publication looking to print his comic include the URL to his web page, where his comic is also availible for free.

The piece, by NPR reporter Dennis Nishi, begins with some comments on the grim outlook most new cartoonists face when trying to get their work syndicated. Kurtz is held up as an example of the changing business of cartoon syndication. The full audio of the piece can be found here.