Cartoonist Ann Telnaes received the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting and commentary on Monday, shortly after she resigned from The Washington Publish over it reportedly censoring a cartoon important of Publish proprietor Jeff Bezos’ relationship with President Donald Trump.
The Pulitzer Prizes are thought of the best award in journalism. In its quotation, the Pulitzer committee credited Telnaes for “delivering piercing commentary on highly effective individuals and establishments with deftness, creativity—and a fearlessness that led to her departure from the information group after 17 years.” Telnaes beforehand received the award in 2001.
“In a time when the free press is beneath assault by autocrats of their quest to silence dissent, editorial cartoons and satire are important for a democracy to outlive and thrive,” Telnaes stated in an announcement. “I’m honored to obtain this award and encourage everybody to help their native cartoonist.”
Telnaes left the paper in January after a cartoon she drew was declined for publication by the Publish’s editorial web page. The sketch depicted Bezos, Mickey Mouse (Disney owns ABC), Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, Los Angeles Instances proprietor Patrick Quickly-Shiong, and Sam Altman of OpenAI bowing to Trump and providing him cash.
Days after the incident, Bezos was amongst these with entrance row seats to Trump’s inauguration—an occasion that he reportedly donated funds to.
Telnaes’ departure was a part of a gentle stream of figures leaving the paper on the finish of 2024 and early this 12 months. Staffers stop after Bezos spiked an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, and columnists Ruth Marcus and Jennifer Rubin additionally stop over the Publish’s capitulations to Trump.
Bezos has not publicly opposed Trump’s insurance policies like tariffs, even whereas arguing that the newspaper’s editorial line would overtly help “free markets and private liberties.”
Trump has expressed delight that Bezos is now in his nook. In a March interview, Trump hailed Bezos for “attempting to do an actual job” in altering the editorial tone on the paper.
Because the Trump administration has made a concerted effort to warp press entry on the White Home in favor of retailers prepared to regurgitate right-wing propaganda—or, within the case of the Publish, not push again too onerous towards it—figures like Telnaes have continued to talk out.
Telnaes now operates a Substack for her cartoons, with over 98,000 subscribers. 1000’s of individuals will nonetheless see the award-winning work that didn’t bow to Trump—they only received’t see it in The Washington Publish anymore.
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