Matt Davies, the long-time Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist for the Journal News, is the latest victim of cutbacks that have plagued parent corporation Gannett. Davies’ staff cartoonist position has been selected as one of 50 newsroom jobs eliminated at the Westchester newspaper.
“As of August 28th, the position of editorial cartoonist at The Journal News is defunct,” Davies announced on his Facebook page. “Tonight, I cry into my beer. It’s been an amazing 17 years, but tomorrow – onto much bigger, and far better things.”
Davies won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for his “piercing cartoons on an array of topics, drawn with a fresh, original style.” He also won the inaugural 2004 Herblock Prize and the 2001 Robert F. Kennedy Award, and is a former president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.
Recent years have taken a toll on the editorial cartoonist profession, with internet competition and an economic recession eating away at newspapers’ revenues. By many counts, less than 80 cartoonists remain on staff at newspapers across the country.
