It looks like the Washington Post, whose owner Jeff Bezos is making nice with the incoming Trump-Vance Administration, is proving their slogan that “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
Bezos, whose influence nixed the papers ready endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris before the November elections, apparently put his foot down on an unpublished editorial cartoon by cartoonists Ann Telnaes which shows billionaire sycophants and Mickey Mouse bowing to the idol of Donald Trump and offering financial tribute at it. Viewers can clearly recognize a caricature of Mr. Bezos in the below piece.
With Bezos apparently instructing his employees at the Post to kill the cartoon, Ms. Telnaes left the position she has held since 2008.
She also penned a piece describing the actions she took. Please read that below.
“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.“
“Over the years I have watched my overseas colleagues risk their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives to expose injustices and hold their countries’ leaders accountable. As a member of the Advisory board for the Geneva based Freedom Cartoonists Foundation and a former board member of Cartoonists Rights, I believe that editorial cartoonists are vital for civic debate and have an essential role in journalism.”
“There will be people who say, “Hey, you work for a company and that company has the right to expect employees to adhere to what’s good for the company”. That’s true except we’re talking about news organizations that have public obligations and who are obliged to nurture a free press in a democracy. Owners of such press organizations are responsible for safeguarding that free press— and trying to get in the good graces of an autocrat-in-waiting will only result in undermining that 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. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, “Democracy dies in darkness”.
“Thank you for reading this.”
What has happened at the Washington Post proves again what happens when corporate interests have ownership of the free press and those individuals steer the flow of information in order to advance their own financial well being at the expense of keeping their readers informed.
There were already too many low information/uniformed/historically illiterate voters who participated in the last election.
Look how that worked out with the more uninformed voters siding with Mr. Felon in Chief.
There are rumors that journalists led by Kate Swisher are trying to put an investor group together to buy the Washington Post from Mr. Bezos.
Good. Hope they succeed.
Democracy can not be allowed to die with owners like Jeff Bezos cherry picking what he thinks is newsworthy by putting personal financial security over the need to keep the American People informed.
The sooner he and other corporate interests are bought off and dislodged from owning news organizations, the better.
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I was referring to your exaggerated statement that democracy died. Did you actually mean it and are now backing away from the statement?
And if you are still denying Biden’s dementia, you are one of the few leftists who still are. You need to get with the program. The Biden ship left.
Unlike you John, I am not backing away from the contents of my remarks with regards to this article. The Biden Ship is still around until January 20. As to dementia, please check out this video highlighting the Felon in Chiefs greatest gaffes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fclqvTg9vM He is not all there. Here is Biden at the Medal of Freedom presentations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK4h7OsujSQ&t=1652s Does not seem demented to me. At least Biden is not a twice impeached, 34 time time convicted, failed President and businessman who was found liable for sexual assault who was ranked dead last by historians. That is all your boy, John.
Well said! We need to be looking for ways private citizens can actively invest in ventures that can buy out these individual investors like Bezos and others and run media companies that will maintain journalistic independence. In the meantime look at their biggest advertisers and let them know you don’t appreciate their support of bad journalistic behavior.
Democracy was already dead. It died when the Washington Post and other mainstream media outlets (and minor ones like BfA) concealed President Biden’s increasingly obvious dementia. Of course, to a degree, that delayed his exit from the campaign, which hampered VP Harris. I guess “payback’s a bitch.”
So you are saying we are not living in a Democracy John. I am going to love putting your comment out for requests to respond to it. And your talking point about Biden’s dementia. I guess you have not been paying attention to White House events or his talking to reporters after the recent attack in New Orleans. Does not seem demented to me. This is happening while your guy the incoming Felon and Sexual Assaulter in Chief, falsely claimed without proof, that the attacker was an illegal immigrant. He is also whining like a baby that the flags will be at half mast on January 20 because the nation is honoring Jimmy Carter. Remember your boy was ranked dead last by historians(those people who care about actual facts) for being a failed President while the current incumbent is ranked 14th. What is a bitch is that so many uninformed people, who forgot how bad Trump was and what he did to the country, again bought his sound bite remarks that he would lower prices and picked him over the candidate that actually fought for their interests. He has since said that would be hard to do. Why people constantly support your party John, the party of tax cuts for the rich, economic recession, mismanaged wars and pandemics, climate and clean energy deniers, screwing the middle class and the poor, obstructers of immigration reform, welfare for the rich through vouchers, and election deniers that glorify the traitorous domestic terrorists of January 6 is beyond me. I am still anxious to hear your plans to reign in fraudsters on the ESA program. There appear to be more of them bilking the Arizona taxpayer than transgender children wanting to use the bathroom of their choice. Talk about misplaced priorities. I guess you see innocent children as more of a threat than criminals taking working and middle class taxpayer money. Very sad.
You know, John Who Dines on the Taxpayer Dime Kavanagh, we’ve covered Biden’s issues, same for WaPo.
Why are you still litigating the 2024 election two months later?
Better question, if your convicted felon and rapist won on the price of eggs, as you’ve said here, what do you have to say about him now saying he can’t bring down prices?
Is he a great big orange Republican liar? (Spoiler, yes, yes he is).
And what does JGCK say about the convicted rapist, felon, and drag-queen style makeup aficionado running on “no wars” now saying he’s going to invade Panama and Greenland?
Is he trying to distract his voters from the promises he’s breaking? (Spoiler, yes, yes he is).
Like JGCK is, by brining up things old issues
Explain to those of us lacking your brilliant insight, please, Lil Johnny.
Spoiler! Kavanagh won’t defend jac!. Coward won’t defend his own stand.
I swear he’s like Sarah Palin and Lyndon LaRouche smoked a pack of Pall Mall’s, then made a baby, dropped that baby on its head, picked it up and dropped it again, then left it in a room with peeling lead paint until it was old enough to attend Trump University.
@Sen. Kavanagh –
Want to talk about “dementia “?
Your guy threw paper towels to the victims of a hurricane.
Guessing he tops that by throwing matchbooks to the victims of CA’s wildfires.
He’ll probably make sure that the covers are Trump-branded.