Rob Rogers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s editorial cartoonist, was fired Thursday. The award-winning cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize finalist whose work was often reprinted in national publications had been with the newspaper since 1993.
Sad to report this update: Today, after 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I was fired.— Rob Rogers (@Rob_Rogers) June 14, 2018
In a statement, Stephen Spolar, the Post-Gazette’s chief human resources officer, said: “The Post-Gazette does not provide details about employment matters, but in light of Mr. Rogers’ public comments today, we do want to acknowledge his long service to the newspaper and our community. Any further discussions will be conducted with Mr. Rogers as a private matter.”
In recent weeks, a number of his cartoons, including some on President Donald Trump, were killed by the paper’s editorial director, Keith Burris.
Burris said Rogers, 59, was offered a deal in which he would be an independent contractor and produce two cartoons per week for the paper’s op-ed page along with his weekly strip, “Brewed on Grant.”
“We tried hard to find a middle way, an accommodation to keep him at the paper,” said Mr. Burris.
He said he did not “suppress” Mr. Rogers’ cartoons but that Mr. Rogers was unwilling to “collaborate” with him about his work and ideas.
“We never said he should do no more Trump cartoons or do pro-Trump cartoons,” said Mr. Burris. “For an in-house staff cartoonist, editing is part of it. Rob’s view was, ‘Take it or leave it.’”
The decision not to run the cartoons was reported widely; Mr. Rogers has tweeted about it as have other journalists. Mr. Rogers also has been interviewed by CNN and other broadcast outlets about the issue, and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and other news industry publications have written about Mr. Rogers and the Post-Gazette’s decision to kill some of his cartoons.
— Joe DeFacto (@JoeDeFacto) June 15, 2018
In a statement, Mr. Rogers said, “I am incredibly proud of the 34 years I have spent drawing editorial cartoons in Pittsburgh — 25 of them at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I felt I was a valued and respected member of a quality newspaper staff. This situation changed dramatically and abruptly in recent months.”
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