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Blocked by Newspaper, In the latest clash of editorial independence with owners and management, American Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Telnaes stepped down as editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post. Her move came after her satirical cartoon showing the owner, billionaire Jeff Bezos, along with other tech tycoons, kneeling before a statue of President-elect Donald Trump, was not allowed to see the light of day.
Telnaes, who has been at the Washington Post since 2008, announced her resignation in a Substack post, writing that this was the first time one of her cartoons had been killed due to its subject matter. The cartoon in question criticized Bezos, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman for allegedly currying favor with Trump by offering bags of cash. The cartoon also included Mickey Mouse, representing Disney, which recently settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump for $15 million.
David Shipley, editorial page editor at the Washington Post said the decision to hold the cartoon was because repetition. He reported that the paper had already run a column on the story and had also scheduled a satirical piece. For his part, Shipley again emphasized that the decision was absolutely not taken by Bezos – or any other type of outside pressure.
This incident is not the first time Telnaes’s work has faced editorial pushback: In 2015, the Washington Post retracted one of her cartoons showing the young daughters of Texas Senator Ted Cruz as monkeys, citing its policy to avoid involving children in political cartoons.
The controversy comes amid broader concerns about Bezos’ influence over the Washington Post. Last month, Bezos announced Amazon would donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and make an additional $1 million in-kind contribution. Bezos also praised Trump’s re-election victory as an “extraordinary political comeback” and dined with him at Mar-a-Lago.
The Washington Post has been at the center of much controversy in recent months, most especially after Bezos stepped in to block the editorial board from endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris for the November presidential election. The decision led to the loss of over 250,000 subscribers and the resignation of several editorial board members.
The Los Angeles Times, whose owner Patrick Soon-Shiong was also caricatured in Telnaes’ cartoon, took a similar step when it did not run its endorsement of Harris, which engendered a subscriber revolt.
Telnaes’ resignation points to the unending struggle for editorial freedom in media outlets owned by influential business moguls. She quoted in her resignation post, “Democracy dies in darkness,” referring to the vital role an independent and free press plays in holding powers accountable.
