Pulitzer Prize-Winning Editorial Cartoonist Ann Telnaes to Receive 2025 William Randolph Hearst Award at SJSU

This November, the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San José State will honor award-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes with the 2025 William Randolph Hearst Award in recognition of her career as a journalist. One of the most influential editorial cartoonists today, Telnaes won the Pulitzer Prize in both 2021 and 2025 for her sharp visual storytelling and unflinching political critique. She worked for The Washington Post from 2008 until 2025, when she resigned after the newspaper refused to run one of her cartoons.

A Swiss Army knife of journalistic talent, Telnaes has worked across animation, visual essays, live sketches and traditional print media. Her incisive work challenges power, calls out injustice and embodies the concept of free speech.

Telnaes was selected by a committee of Journalism and M ass Communications faculty members, says JMC School Director John Delacruz.

"I proposed a cartoonist this year, as I felt it was a good way to cross disciplines in the college, imagining synergies between illustration, journalism and political science," says Delacruz. "Ann's stand at The Washington Post elevated her name straight away, and digging into her work at a time when satire was coming under attack and the freedom of expression was under threat, made the decision a no-brainer."

Telnaes will be accepting the Hearst Award at a special ceremony at the SJSU Student Union Theater at 11 a.m. on November 19 . In advance of her visit, she answered a few questions for today's Deep Dive in Five, and graciously shared an original piece exploring the role of editorial cartooning in a democratic society.

How did you get your start as an editorial cartoonist?

Ann Telnaes (AT): I didn't have any plans to become an editorial cartoonist. My plans were to become an animator. I attended the Character Animation program at California Institute of the Arts and went on to work for several years in the animation field and as a show designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. But a couple of big news events caused me to change my career path.

The first one was the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, which I watched on TV late one night while working on a freelance project. Witnessing a country's leaders send tanks against their own younger generation peacefully protesting for democracy had a very profound effect on me. I became much more interested and politically aware as a result of that historical milestone.

The second event was watching the 1991 Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings. As a young woman who had dealt with sexual harassment in the workplace, I was outraged at the type of questioning Anita Hill received by the Senators (both Republicans and Democrats) and decided right there to put together a portfolio of cartoons and send them out to newspapers around the country.

How would you describe editorial cartooning as a cartoon?

What role do you see editorial cartooning play in democracy?

AT: Editorial cartoons and satire play a very important role in democracies. Everyone, regardless of their social standing or level of education, can understand and relate to cartoons. They truly are the great equalizer - autocrats especially dislike being the target of editorial cartoons because of their thin skin.

What message would you like to share with the next generation of journalists and cartoonists?

AT: Be true to yourself. Know your principles and stick to them.

What gives you hope?

AT: Those Americans who are getting out and publicly protesting. The photos from the No Kings protests are truly inspiring.

Get the details about the 2025 Hearst Award ceremony.