Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Ann Telnaes, donald trump

Ann Telnaes Quits Washington Post After Trump/Bezos Cartoon Rejected

Cartoonist Ann Telnaes quits The Washington Post after her Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos and Mickey Mouse cartoon is rejected.

Published Sun, 05 Jan 2025 05:58:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Ann Telnaes resigns from Washington Post after cartoon featuring Trump and Bezos is rejected.
The cartoon depicts tech CEOs kneeling to Donald Trump, raising questions about media freedom.
Telnaes claims rejection was for content, not quality; calls it dangerous for press freedom.
Post's editor cites bias against repetition, as similar topics were recently published.

Washington Post's Pulitzer prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes has resigned from her position at the Post, over their decision to drop one of her cartoons because it was a) about Donald Trump and b) featured Washington Post owner Jeffrey Bezos, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Patrick Soon-Shiong and Sam Altman kneeling before Donald Trump offering mone, while Mickey Mouse is fully prostrate.

Cartoonist Quits Washington Post After Trump/Bezos Cartoon Rejected — From the rough of the cartoon by Ann Telnaes, from her Substack.

Ann Telnaes states on her Substack, where she reproduces the sketch for the cartoon, "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." You can subscribe to her Substack here.

The New York Times quotes the Post's opinions editor, David Shipley, stating that he respected Ann Telnaes and all she had given to The Post "but must disagree with her interpretation of events… Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force. My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition."