Matt Groening on the then current state of newspaper comics

GROTH: What do you think of the state of newspaper strips?
GROENING: It's really sad that they're printed so small, but the content, at least, is livening up. I'm working on The Simpsons syndicated comic strip right now; trying to put together a team to make sure it'll get out every day for the foreseeable future. If I can do that, and I'm satisfied with the quality, we'll see a Simpsons strip. What we do on television is even a little far-out to transfer to the newspapers, so we're hoping that the success of the TV show will allow us to get away with a little more than a brand-new, unknown comic strip might be able to.
GROTH: Do you think that the newspaper strip context is even more conservative than television?
GROENING: Sure. A few people are pushing the boundaries more than others, like Berke Breathed and Garry Trudeau. For the most part it's still pretty staid.

[The Simpsons comic strip would not actually be syndicated until 1999 and would only last until 2000. There were a collection of artists who drew it, none of whom were Groening]