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Editorial cartooning is a powerful form of opinion journalism with a long history of effecting change and holding powerful individuals accountable. While the craft has evolved—even shaping contemporary forms of visual expression, such as memes—many key characteristics and functions remain the same. Hear from leading editorial cartoonists about how they approach their work, where they see their field headed, and how the unique characteristics of editorial cartoons make for rich and rewarding news literacy explorations in a range of subjects, from history to social studies to art.
This edWebinar, sponsored by the News Literacy Project (NLP), features a panel conversation with editorial cartoonists Lalo Alcaraz and Signe Wilkinson, who are both included in Power in Art: The Watchdog Role of Editorial Cartoonists, an innovative new lesson on NLP’s virtual classroom, Checkology®️. The lesson, which was made possible with support from The Herb Block Foundation and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC), examines the important role that editorial cartoonists have played across time and around the world. The conversation will be moderated by NLP staff experts Peter Adams and Darragh Worland.
This edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
About the Presenters
Lalo Alcaraz is an award-winning, nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist and the creator of the syndicated daily comic strip, La Cucaracha, published nationwide since 2002. Lalo is the 2022 Herblock Prize winner for editorial cartooning, as well as the winner of six Southern California Press Awards for Best Editorial Cartoon. He was an editorial cartoonist for LA Weekly from 1992-2010. Lalo now creates editorial cartoons for Andrews McMeel Syndication, Daily Kos, Pocho.com, and various newspapers including Philadelphia’s Al Día News.
An accomplished illustrator and Chicano artist, Lalo’s work has been featured in numerous museums, galleries and publications around the world and on broadcast television and documentaries. His graphic novel and cartoon books include The New York Times bestseller A Most Imperfect Union; Latino USA: A Cartoon History, 15th Anniversary Edition; Migra Mouse: Political Cartoons on Immigration; and La Cucaracha.
Signe Wilkinson drew editorial cartoons for the Philadelphia Daily News, and later, The Inquirer and Inquirer.com for 36 years before retiring in 2021. Her work was syndicated nationally by The Washington Post Writers Group and is still shared widely on social media. Her cartoon collections include Abortion Cartoons on Demand, One Nation Under Surveillance, and Herstory: 19 Cartoons in Celebration of the 19th Amendment. Her reprints are handled by cartoonstock.com. In 2021, Free Speech and Why You Should Give a Damn, her collaboration with UPenn history professor Jonathan Zimmerman, was named best non-fiction book of 2021 by the Independent Booksellers Association. Recipient of many awards, including the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for cartooning, she is most proud of having been named “The Pennsylvania Vegetable Substitute” by a former head of the Pennsylvania Senate.
Peter Adams became the News Literacy Project’s Senior Vice President of Research and Design after several years as the organization’s Head of Education. He began his career as a classroom teacher in the New York City schools through Teach For America. He has also taught in the Chicago Public Schools, at Roosevelt University, and at Chicago City Colleges’ Wilbur Wright campus. In addition, he has worked with the NYC Teaching Fellows program, with After School Matters, and as an independent education consultant.
Since joining NLP in 2009, he has coordinated classroom and after-school programs, served as Chicago program manager, worked on organizational strategy, and developed NLP’s digital program. He has also provided news literacy training and workshops to educators and others throughout the area. He was promoted to his current position in January 2014 and oversees NLP’s education team, which develops resources and training for teachers.
Darragh Worland became the News Literacy Project’s Senior Vice President of Creative Strategy in July 2022 after three years as the organization’s Vice President of Creative Services and several years as the organization’s Vice President of Production and Digital Media prior to that. As the SVP for creative strategy, she leads NLP’s editorial content team and the platforms team. She joined NLP in 2011 as the New York program coordinator and was soon promoted to program manager. In that position, she rapidly expanded the New York program.
A journalist and multimedia educator and consultant, Darragh has worked for several major news organizations, including six years as a writer, web producer, and field producer at NY1 News, when it was a Time Warner-owned cable outlet that covered New York City. She then covered the financial crisis as a senior producer at MSN Money, shooting and producing video features for the web.
