Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Anne Ternes has resigned. washington post More than 15 years later, the editor is accused of killing a drafted cartoon because of its mocking depiction of the publication's owner, Jeff Bezos, and President-elect Donald Trump. did.
Ternaes won The 2001 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial cartooning explained why she was “quitting the Washington Post” in a Friday paper. post Substack had published pictures of Bezos and other wealthy people bowing down to Trump.
“I have worked as an editorial cartoonist at the Washington Post since 2008. I have experienced feedback, productive conversations, and some differences from editors on the cartoons I submitted for publication. But in all that time, I've never had a comic die because of who or what I aimed my pen at. Until now,” the manga artist wrote.
“The slain cartoon criticizes the billionaire tech and media chiefs who have done everything in their power to curry favor with President-elect Trump,” she said.
Images of her drafts, posted on Substack and widely shared on other social media platforms, include images of Amazon and postBezos of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Los Angeles Times Publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong knelt at Trump's feet and held out a bag of cash.
The image also included Mickey Mouse with his head bowed to represent “The Walt Disney Company/ABC News,” Ternes said.
While she admits that it's not unusual for her cartoons to receive criticism or edits from editors, she says that so far “it hasn't been because of the inherent perspective in the comic's commentary.” said.
Despite her claims; washington post Editorial Page Editor David Shipley said NPR said it respects Ternes' work but that her interpretation of the rejection is wrong.
“Not all editorial decisions reflect malign forces,” he says. “My decision was dictated by the fact that I had just published a column on the same theme as the cartoon and had already planned to publish another column (this one satire). The only prejudice was against repetition .”
The publication received intense backlash from Democratic readers ahead of the November 2024 presidential election. refused It's about endorsing candidates, as the paper has done in years past.
Despite several resignations within the company and a flood of subscription cancellations from angry liberals hoping to support then-candidate Kamala Harris, Bezos also reiterated his position in a speech in late October. I stuck to it. Editorial.
“The president's endorsement does nothing to change the scale of the election. No undecided voter in Pennsylvania is going to say, 'I'm going to follow Newspaper A.' There is nothing,” the billionaire wrote in his newspaper. “What the president's endorsement actually does is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence.”
He added: “Neither the campaign nor the candidates were consulted or briefed on this decision at any level or in any way. It was made entirely in-house.”
Soon-shiong too I refused let Los Angeles Times He announced his support for the president after previously publicly supporting President Joe Biden, former candidate Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama.
Breitbart News reported Mr. Altman, Mr. Bezos and Mr. Zuckerberg have already pledged seven-figure donations to President Trump's inaugural committee, and all will be targeted by Mr. Ternes' cartoon.
The American Society of Editorial Cartoonists, of which Ternas previously served as president, issued a statement in support of her.
“Corporate billionaires have once again breathed life into editorial cartoons through their overzealous censorship capitulation to would-be tyrants,” the group said in a statement. news release. “Her principled resignation shows that while the pen is mightier than the sword, political cowardice is once again overshadowing The Washington Post's journalistic integrity.”
