
<p>Certified leftist paper <em>Washington Post</em> (WP) is in disarray as it loses people, revenue, and reputation – the latter even among its own liberal audience. The recent resignation of editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes after the paper declined to publish one of her cartoons has ruffled many liberals in media.</p>



<p>In a Substack post on Saturday (January 4), Telnaes announced her decision to quit her job at WP after working at the paper for 16 years. She wrote that WP never killed a cartoon of hers during all her years at the paper until now. The cartoon rejected by WP depicts rich media owners along with Mickey Mouse (symbolizing Disney) bowing to Trump in appeasement while he stands tall with a protruding belly over them. In Telnaes’ own words:</p>



<p><em>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.</em></p>



<p>The last name stands out as Bezos owns the paper and the rejection of a cartoon insulting him as a ring-kisser reminds of Robert Greene’s classic principle “Never outshine the master.” Insulting the master is far worse and Telnaes crossed that unofficial red line. However, in her Substack article, Telnaes stated that her cartoon was rejected “because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary.” Emphasizing that editorial cartoonists play a key role in civic debate and accountability of powerful people and institutions, Telnaes wrote:</p>



<p><em>“For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post.”</em></p>



<p>Liberals in media sounded critical of WP after Telnaes’ decision to quit the paper. Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator Darrin Bell rejected the paper’s explanation that Telnaes’ cartoon was rejected because it was a mere repetition of what WP had recently published. In his Substack article on Sunday (January 5), he wrote:</p>



<p><em>Editorial cartoons are an introduction to journalism, for young people and for those whose eyes gloss over when they see paragraph after paragraph of prose. Covering the same matter with three different types of journalism is not redundant, it’s reach-out.</em></p>



<p>Leftist commentators on CNN also questioned WP in a tone of concern while praising Telnaes’ courage to quit.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="1080" height="608" data-videoid="HgLg9L5YDJM" title="Cartoonist resigns after Washington Post axes cartoon criticizing paper’s owner"><a placeholder href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgLg9L5YDJM"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HgLg9L5YDJM/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="Cartoonist resigns after Washington Post axes cartoon criticizing paper’s owner"></a></amp-youtube>
</div></figure>



<p>The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists issued a statement, cited by <em>Breitbart</em> on Sunday, in support of Telnaes and calling out WP for “political cowardice”:</p>

Washington Post Cartoonist Quits after Rejection of Sketch Insulting Owner
