POLITICO’s Matt Wuerker has wonthis year’s Pulitzer Prize for cartooning, an award presented for “his consistently fresh, funny cartoons, especially memorable for lampooning the partisan conflict that engulfed Washington.” Wuerker was previously a finalist in 2009 and 2010.
Wuerker’s cartoons have indeed enlivened the popular POLITICO website, and the finalists—”Matt Bors, syndicated by Universal Uclick, for his pungent work outside the traditional style of American cartooning; and Jack Ohman, of The Oregonian, Portland, for his clever daily cartoons and a distinctive Sunday panel on local issues in which his reporting was as important as his artistic execution”—also show the importance of online in creating a cartooning portfolio. Michael Cavna has some excellent analysis and quotes here.
Looking at the strong work by all three is a heartening reminder that even as “editorial cartoonist at a newspaper” becomes an occupation with as much future as a jewel-case designer, there is still sharp, vital political cartooning that’s being seen.
Wuerker responded to the win like this:
This year’s judging panel consisted of
Froma Harrop, columnist and editorial writer, The Providence Journal/Creators Syndicate (chair)
Mark Fiore, political cartoonist/political animator, SFGate.com/self-syndicated
Kevin Kallaugher, editorial cartoonist, The Economist
Chris Lamb, professor of communication, College of Charleston, SC
John Smalley, editor, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
Here’s a complete list of winners.
