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April 18, 2008
The Year of Ramirez
Michael Ramirez continued having a great year where awards were concerned when he won this year's Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. This is the second time Ramirez has won the prestigious prize, having previously won in 1994 when he was at The Commercial Appeal of Memphis.
Ramirez won for a portfolio of cartoons drawn for Investor's Business Daily, who hired Ramirez shortly after he was unceremoniously dumped by the LA Times. It was the first Pulitzer Prize for IBD.
In a congratulatory column, the staff of IBD said "In awarding Ramirez, the Pulitzer panel lauded his 'provocative cartoons that rely on originality, humor and detailed artistry.' We couldn't agree more."
The Pulitzer board -- which this year included Seattle Post-Intelligencer cartoonist David Horsey -- cited Ramirez for a "distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing and pictorial effect."
The other finalists for this year's prize were Clay Bennett, who was cited for his Christian Science Monitor work but is now with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and --- in a surprise and somewhat controversial move -- "Funky Winkerbean" cartoonist Tom Batiuk for his strips on the cancer death of a long-time character.
In an interview with E&P's Dave Astor, Ramirez said "Editorial cartooning is an extension of journalism, not just entertainment."
He added, cartoonists trying to make substantive statements "have to do their homework." He's helped in this respect by being part of the team running the IBD editorial page -- a level of responsibility few other staff cartoonists have at their newspapers. "It gives me a better perspective on the news," he explained.
Ramirez, 46, joined IBD in early 2006 -- soon after being forced out of the Los Angeles Times. When asked if winning the Pulitzer was especially satisfying after that experience, he took the high road. "I'm very grateful for the time I spent at the Times," Ramirez said. "There were some wonderful people there. They gave me a great deal of creative freedom, and were very supportive until the last one-and-a-half years. I'm sad I wasn't able to win a Pulitzer for them."
But Ramirez said he's thrilled to win for his current paper. "It's fantastic to bring one home for IBD," he said.
Last year, all three cartoon finalists did some animation in addition to print work, and observers wondered if this was the shape of things to come for the Pulitzer. But Ramirez doesn't do animation. The California resident did say he likes some of the animation out there, and may try it himself at some point. But Ramirez reiterated that the most important thing about a cartoon is the message -- whether it's conveyed in a black-and-white print cartoon, in a color print cartoon, or in an animation.
Ramirez's winning portfolio can be seen here: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2008/editorial-cartooning/works/index.html
Exactly one week after winning the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, Ramirez won the editorial cartooning category of the Sigma Delta Chi Awards. Given by the Society of Professional Journalists, the awards will be presented July 11 during the annual Sigma Delta Chi Awards banquet at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
In March, he won the John Fischetti award for editorial cartooning from the Columbia College Chicago Journalism Department, and took third place in the National Headliner Awards.
Sources: Editor & Publisher, Investor's Business Daily, The Daily Cartoonist. J.P. Trostle contributed to this article.
On the Net: The complete E&P interview can be read here: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003786674