Toon Temper

How dare they ask that she act like an adult:

Ms. Telnaes’ post merges the finest of Wisconsin and California, demanding copious amounts of quality cheese to accompany the gallons of spilled whine with an accompanying sideboard of self-importance unaccompanied by anything vaguely resembling discernible cause for such belief. She starts by playing the victim.

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 cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump. There have been multiple articles recently about these men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to Mar-a-lago. The group in the cartoon included Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook & Meta founder and CEO, Sam Altman/AI CEO, Patrick Soon-Shiong/LA Times publisher, the Walt Disney Company/ABC News, and Jeff Bezos/Washington Post owner. While it isn’t uncommon for editorial page editors to object to visual metaphors within a cartoon if it strikes that editor as unclear or isn’t correctly conveying the message intended by the cartoonist, such editorial criticism was not the case regarding this cartoon. 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.

A quick ”fill in the blanks “ session suggests itself. Ms. Telnaes worked for the Washington Post, which, as noted, is owned by Jeff Bezos. Now, while visibly running any large organization invariably invites public criticism, something against which the wise highly recommended thickening of the epidermis layer, it is an unspoken due to it generally being considered an obvious rule that an employee refrains from publicly criticizing both his or her employer and the individual or individuals who lead said employer. Not biting the hand that feeds you is solid advice.

That hand can smack back...