Brand Group. The Scripps Howard News Service (SHNS) (established 1917) was part of United Media; SHNS went defunct in 2013. On February 24, 2011, United Media struck a distribution deal with Universal Uclick (now known as Andrews McMeel Syndication) for syndication of the company's 150 comic strip and news features, which became effective on June 1 of that year. Of the more than 40 comic strips United Media transferred to Universal Uclick, about 75% of them were United Features strips (as opposed to Newspaper Enterprise Association strips). While United Media effectively ceased to exist, Scripps still maintains copyrights and intellectual property rights. From 1999 until its 2011 takeover by Universal Uclick, United Media used the Comics.com domain to promote their existing syndicated strips as well as promote new strips and the burgeoning realm of webcomics. (Comics.com also featured editorial cartoons, The New Yorker cartoons, Snoopy.com, and Dilbert.com.) The site, however, never worked the way it was planned. As cartoonist and former UM editor of acquisitions and development Ted Rall wrote, Comics.com "was the laughingstock of the industry, full of Javascript gone wild, 404 errors and broken widgets." According to Rall, outgoing UM President Doug Stern told his employees "that part of the failure of UM was directly attributable to the company's inability to make money online, that they had tried their best but failed." Many involved with the company said that was not the case. Universal Uclick/Andrews McMeel Syndication took over the Comics.com domain, which currently redirects to GoComics.com, the web's largest catalog of syndicated newspaper strips, political cartoons and webcomics, offering free new content every day. Syndicated comic strips before June 1, 2011 Newspaper Enterprise Association Alley Oop originally by V. T. Hamlin (launched 1932) Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson (launched 1985) Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce (launched 1991) The Born Loser by Art Sansom (launched 1965) Drabble by Kevin Fagan(launched 1979) Frank and Ernest originally by Bob Thaves (launched 1972) The Grizzwells by Bill Schorr (launched 1987) Kit 'n' Carlyle by Larry Wright (1980–2015) Moderately Confused by Jeff Stahler (launched 2003) Shortcuts by Jeff Harris (launched August 30, 1999) Soup to Nutz by Rick Stromoski (2000–2018) United Feature Syndicate 9 Chickweed Lane by Brooke McEldowney (launched 1993) Betty by Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen (launched 1991) Brevity originally by Guy Endore-Kaiser and Rodd Perr (launched 2005) The Buckets originally by Scott Stantis (launched 1994) — picked up