Back in January, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes was doing what she does best — using her superb artistic skills and smart sensibilities to poke the powerful and hold them to account. She turned in a cartoon that showed several billionaire tech and media executives genuflecting at a statue of then-President-elect Donald Trump. One of those executives was Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post.
What happened next was stunning. Telnaes quit the paper, writing, “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 Post didn’t run the cartoon, and Telnaes quit in protest. She was praised for her courage. The Post was criticized for killing the cartoon.
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