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Finalist: Mike Thompson of Detroit Free Press

For a provocative, nuanced and impactful portfolio of editorial cartoons that took on a variety of social issues, including, health care, police brutality, sexual harassment and education, through traditional panels and digital animation.

Nominated Work

Nominated Work

September 28, 2017

January 23, 2017

February 3, 2017

December 22, 2017

June 7, 2017

January 19, 2017

March 7, 2017

September 8, 2017

June 23, 2017

December 13, 2017

October 3, 2017

May 25, 2017

May 4, 2017

August 2, 2017

October 26, 2017

September 28, 2017

May 17, 2017

Biography

Mike Thompson is the editorial cartoonist/animator for the Detroit Free Press.

Winner of the 2017 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning, Thompson is a two-time winner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ national award for cartooning,the Overseas Press Club Award, the National Press Foundation Award, the National Headliner Award, the Scripps Howard Award and the national Women in Communications Clarion Award.

As a college student, he received first-place honors in national collegiate contests sponsored by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

Thompson began his career as a contributing cartoonist for The Milwaukee Journal and later worked as staff cartoonist for the St. Louis Sun and the Copley Illinois Newspapers before joining the Detroit Free Press in November 1998.

He resides in suburban Detroit with his wife and two daughters.

Winners

Prize Winner in Editorial Cartooning in 2018:

Jake Halpern, freelance writer, and Michael Sloan, freelance cartoonist, The New York Times

For an emotionally powerful series, told in graphic narrative form, that chronicled the daily struggles of a real-life family of refugees and its fear of deportation. Editorial Cartooning

Finalists

Nominated as finalists in Editorial Cartooning in 2018:

Mark Fiore, freelance cartoonist

For clever, multi-dimensional editorial cartoons that set a high bar for video and biting political satire in an increasingly digital journalism universe, resulting in animation that is simple but powerful and may help engage a younger audience at a time when the industry is seeking to capture new viewers and readers.

The Jury

Jim Strauss(Chair)

President and Publisher

Matthew Carroll

Professor of the Practice of Journalism

Veda Morgan

News Director

Sandra E. Sanchez

Opinion Editor

Matthew J. Von Pinnon

Editor-in-Chief

Winners in Editorial Cartooning

Jim Morin

For editorial cartoons that delivered sharp perspectives through flawless artistry, biting prose and crisp wit.

Jack Ohman

For cartoons that convey wry, rueful perspectives through sophisticated style that combines bold line work with subtle colors and textures.

Adam Zyglis

Who used strong images to connect with readers while conveying layers of meaning in a few words.

Kevin Siers

For his thought provoking cartoons drawn with a sharp wit and bold artistic style.

2018 Prize Winners

Staff of The Washington Post

For purposeful and relentless reporting that changed the course of a Senate race in Alabama by revealing a candidate’s alleged past sexual harassment of teenage girls and subsequent efforts to undermine the journalism that exposed it.