Washington Post cartoonist quits after paper blocks Bezos-Trump drawing

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Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Kaleb Gillespie (Video Editor)

A long-time cartoonist for The Washington Post has resigned after she said her latest cartoon was blocked. Ann Telnaes, who had worked at the paper for 16 years, said she has never had a cartoon scrapped due to its controversial subject matter. She criticized her former employer, calling the decision to pull the cartoon a “danger” to a free press.

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In a Substack post, Telnaes shared a rough draft of the cartoon that she said criticized billionaire tech and media executives “who have sought to curry favor with President-elect Trump.”

The cartoon depicted figures kneeling at Trump’s feet with money bags, including The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mickey Mouse, the corporate mascot of Disney and parent company of ABC.

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Telnaes wrote that while cartoons are sometimes rejected or revised, this was the first time her editor prevented her from holding powerful people accountable.

“That’s a game changer… and dangerous for a free press,” she said. “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.”

In response, the Post’s opinions editor, David Shipley, said the paper had recently published a column on the same topic and had already scheduled another related column.

Shipley explained that the request to change the cartoon’s focus was due to the repetitiveness of coverage on tech billionaires’ meetings with and donations to Trump following his election. He added that he had asked Telnaes to reconsider her resignation.

This incident comes amid growing tension within the newsroom. In October, The Washington Post canceled a planned endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, a decision reportedly influenced by Bezos. The move led to the resignation of several high-profile writers.

According to media reporter Oliver Darcy, The Washington Post is also expected to lay off dozens of employees in the coming week. The latest round of layoffs follows hundreds of voluntary buyouts in 2023 and dozens of layoffs in September 2024.

Last year, the paper’s publisher outlined its financial struggles, revealing that The Post had lost $77 million the previous year and had seen its audience drop 50% since 2020. The publisher described the paper as “being in the hole,” reflecting broader trends in the journalism industry amid a decline in subscribers and viewership in the digital age.

Tags: abc news, Jeff Bezos, Layoffs, news media, Newspaper, television news

[Karah]

A LONG-TIME CARTOONIST FOR THE WASHINGTON POST HAS QUIT WORKING FOR THE PAPER AFTER SHE SAYS HER LATEST CARTOON DESIGN WAS KILLED.

“ANN TELNAES” SAYS SHE’S NEVER HAD A CARTOON SCRAPPED BECAUSE OF ITS CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT MATTER IN THE 16 YEARS SHE HAD WORKED THERE.

AND BECAUSE OF IT – “TELNAES” IS CRITICIZING HER NOW FORMER EMPLOYER –

CALLING THE NIXING OF HER POLITICAL CARTOON A DANGER TO A FREE PRESS.

THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT OF THE KILLED CARTOON TELNAES SHARED ON SUBSTACK – EXPLAINING WHY SHE RESIGNED.

SHE DESCRIBES THE DRAWING AS ONE THAT QUOTE “CRITICIZES THE BILLIONAIRE TECH AND MEDIA CHIEF EXECUTIVES WHO HAVE BEEN DOING THEIR BEST TO CURRY FAVOR WITH THE INCOMING PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP.”

THE MINIONS PICTURED WITH MONEY BAGS KNEELING AT WHAT IS PRESUMABLY TRUMP’S FEET – INCLUDED THE WASHINGTON POST’S VERY OWN OWNER JEFF BEZOS – ALONG WITH FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG, OPEN A-I’S CEO, THE LA TIMES OWNER, AND MICKEY MOUSE – THE CORPORATE MASCOT OF DISNEY, WHICH OWNS A-B-C.

TELNAES WROTE –

“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.”

“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.”

THE WASHINGTON POST’S OPINIONS EDITOR – DAVID SHIPLEY – RESPONDED TO TELNAES PUBLIC RESIGNATION.

HE SAYS THE PAPER HAD JUST PUBLISHED A COLUMN ON THE SAME TOPIC AS THE CARTOON AND HAD ALREADY SCHEDULED ANOTHER RELATED COLUMN TO RUN.

SHIPLEY SAYS THE DECISION TO REQUEST A CARTOON ON A DIFFERENT POLITICAL ISSUE – WAS DUE TO THE REPETITIVENESS OF THE PAPER ALREADY COVERING TECH BILLIONAIRES ONGOING MEETINGS WITH – AND DONATIONS TO – TRUMP SINCE HIS ELECTION VICTORY.

THE EDITOR SAYS HE ASKED TELNAES TO RECONSIDER RESIGNING.

This incident comes at a time of growing tension within the newsroom. In October, The Washington Post NIXED a planned endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, a move that was reportedly influenced by Bezos.

THAT DECISION TO NOT ENDORSE HARRIS LED SEVERAL HIGH PROFILE WRITERS TO QUIT.

AND NOW – ACCORDING TO MEDIA REPORTER OLIVER DARCY’S SCOOP –

THE PAPER IS ABOUT TO LAY OFF DOZENS MORE EMPLOYEES IN THE COMING WEEK.

THE LATEST ROUND OF LAYOFFS FOR THE PAPER FOLLOWS HUNDREDS OF “VOLUNTARY BUYOUTS” IN 2023 AND DOZENS OF LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2024.

LAST YEAR – THE POST’S PUBLISHER OUTLINED THE PAPER’S FINANCIAL WOES FOR STAFFERS –

SAYING THE POST HAD LOST 77 MILLION DOLLARS THE YEAR PRIOR AND SAW THEIR AUDIENCE DROP 50 PERCENT SINCE 2020.

WHILE THE PUBLISHER DESCRIBED THE PAPER’S SITUATION AS “BEING IN THE HOLE” –

ITS IN LINE WITH AN INDUSTRY TREND –

A DECLINE IN SUBSCRIBERS AND VIEWERSHIP IN THE DIGITAL AGE OF JOURNALISM.

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