RJ Matson Let Go From St. Louis Post-Dispatch



The editorial cartoonist RJ Matson was apparently let go from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a purge of 23 employees late last week. The Riverfront Times has a bunch of links on that story as it developed; it always creeps me out that news sources won't be absolutely upfront about changes in a timely manner when they make news like this, and media sources are forced to scramble after tweets and the like. The article notes that whatever supposed money issues caused the latest round of firings haven't had an effect on the bonuses given higher-up folks at the publication.

Matson is one of those anchor talents for that profession, a well-traveled cartoonist who should be in the prime of his career that's published in a ton of prestigious outlets.

One thing that's particularly distressing about this is that the Post-Dispatch has one of the serious pedigrees for great 20th Century editorial cartooning, being the home for both Daniel Fitzpatrick and Bill Mauldin at different times. If I remember correctly, Fitzpatrick won two Pulitzer Prizes some years apart at the publication, and Mauldin won one in the late '50s as part of his return to comics after leaving the field for a time. For a publication like that one not to have a major editorial cartoonist on staff is very sad to me.
 
posted 9:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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