Political cartoonist discusses free speech through art

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation partnered with the Palm Springs Public Library on Tuesday night to present "Laughing Out Loud: The Provocative History of Political Cartoons from Ben Franklin to Donald Trump."

Presenter Mike Thompson is the longtime editorial cartoonist and animator with USA Today and the Detroit Free Press and has won numerous awards as a cartoonist and journalist. Thompson is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Thompson discussed the importance of political cartoons as an element of free speech. He added that some newspaper chains have eliminated entire opinion pages or only run opinion pages once a week - and some of them stopping political cartoons altogether.

He continued, "...we're really seeing a renaissance in in political cartooning go online, they're shared everywhere. People love them and I think they'll continue to love them."

 The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation promotes and supports sustainable community journalism.