Ann Telnaes Quits The Washington Post

From Open Windows.

(rough of cartoon killed)

I’ve worked for the Washington Post since 2008 as an editorial cartoonist. 

I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. 

Until now.

The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump. 

There have been multiple articles recently about these men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to Mar-a-lago. 

The group in the cartoon included Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook & Meta founder and CEO), Sam Altman (AI CEO), Patrick Soon-Shiong (LA Times publisher), the Walt Disney Company (ABC News), and Jeff Bezos (Washington Post owner).

While it isn’t uncommon for editorial page editors to object to visual metaphors within a cartoon if it strikes that editor as unclear or isn’t correctly conveying the message intended by the cartoonist, such editorial criticism was not the case regarding this cartoon. 

To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary. 

That’s a game changer…and dangerous for a free press.

Over the years I have watched my overseas colleagues risk their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives to expose injustices and hold their countries’ leaders accountable. 

As a member of the Advisory board for the Geneva based Freedom Cartoonists Foundation and a former board member of Cartoonists Rights, I believe that editorial cartoonists are vital for civic debate and have an essential role in journalism.

There will be people who say, “Hey, you work for a company and that company has the right to expect employees to adhere to what’s good for the company”. 

That’s true except we’re talking about news organizations that have public obligations and who are obliged to nurture a free press in a democracy. 

Owners of such press organizations are responsible for safeguarding that free press— and trying to get in the good graces of an autocrat-in-waiting will only result in undermining that free press.

As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. 

For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. 

So I have decided to leave the Post. 

I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. 

But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, “Democracy dies in darkness”.

Thank you for reading this.

Ann Telnaes

UPDATES

We're used to hearing about cartoonists getting fired by the bean counters, but it is exceedingly rare for one to quit on principle.

In a moment of supreme irony, the New York Times picked up the story and ran her spiked cartoon. 

While this is obviously an opportunity for them to ding a competitor, it's nice to see them run an editorial cartoon for once.


JP Trostle 

Artist + Graphic Designer 

japenet@gmail.com

Steve Brodner

Barry Blitt

Wes Tyrell (Canada)

Pat Bagley

Clay Jones

André Carrilho (Portugal)

Daniel Boris

The Freedom Cartoonists Foundation in Geneva denounces the Washington Post’s spineless decision to drop a cartoon by its world-renowned cartoonist, Ann Telnaes – prompting her immediate departure.

A cartoonist shows the way for courage and principle, while a major newspaper tramples on freedom of expression and humiliates itself in the process: Ann Telnaes leaves The Washington Post after the rejection of a cartoon showing tech moguls including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos (the paper’s owner) courting Trump.

Of course, every news outlet has the right to choose what to print and what not to print. But by not daring to run this biting, to-the-point depiction of the current power plays around the Trump administration, the Washington Post is betraying the tradition of critical journalism for which it is renowned. 

A once-great American newspaper is showing that it is now afraid of political satire – and the truth – when it involves billionaire Jeff Bezos.

David Shipley, editor of the Opinions section, denies any censorship, saying the cartoon coincided with an article on the same subject…. 

The solution is simple, David: publish that cartoon in the coming days! (And keep working with one of the best cartoonists in the world.)

We are proud and fortunate to have Ann on the advisory board of the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation in Geneva, which has been defending press freedom and editorial cartooning since 2010, and we fully support her in her fight for freedom of expression and opinion in a context of rapidly evolving self-censorship in the American media. 

A country that was once a beacon of journalism, human rights and democracy is showing worrying signs of weakness in these areas.

Patrick Chappatte,

Foundation Chair

 

READ ALSO

• "Hello darkness, my old friend: the Ann Telnaes resignation and the late, formerly great Washington Post" by Jack Ohman 
• "Democracy Dies Like This" by Nick Anderson
• "Ann Telnaes, the Washington Post, and a childhood dream that still lives" by Darrin Bell
• "When Cartoonists Are Censored, We All Need To Be Concerned" by Andrew Whitehead

Ann also gave an interview to BBC World Service Radio.