The Herblock Prize for

editorial cartooning An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...

is an annual $15,000 after-tax cash prize, and a sterling silver Tiffany trophy."Herblock Prize & Lecture,"
Herblock Foundation website. Accessed Sept. 7, 2015. Designed "to encourage editorial cartooning as an essential tool for preserving the rights of the American people through freedom of speech and the right of expression," it is named for the editorial cartoonist

Herblock Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock (October13, 1909October7, 2001), was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy. During the course of a career stretch ...

and sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation. The rotating three-judge panel that determines the award-winner is typically composed of the previous year's winner, another editorial cartoonist, and a scholar of editorial cartooning. The award is typically presented some time between March and May of each year, at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. Each award presentation is accompanied by a guest lecturer who discusses contemporary social issues "in the spirit of

." Previous Herblock Prize guest lecturers include

Ben Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The New Y ...

, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Sandra Day O’Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and the ...

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

Tim Russert Timothy John Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008) was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's ''Meet the Press''. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Wa ...

Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for '' Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broad ...

George Stevens, Jr. George Cooper Stevens Jr. (born April 3, 1932) is an American writer, playwright, director, and producer. He is the founder of the American Film Institute, creator of the AFI Life Achievement Award, and co-creator of the Kennedy Center Honors. H ...

Jim Lehrer James Charles Lehrer (; May 19, 1934 – January 23, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. Lehrer was the executive editor and a news anchor for the ''PBS NewsHour'' on PBS and was known for his role as a deb ...

Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series ''Alpha House''. ...

Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...

, and

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingto ...

. Finalists for the award have been named since 2011; they receive a $5,000 after-tax prize.

History

When

Herb Block Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock (October13, 1909October7, 2001), was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy. During the course of a career stretchi ...

died in October 2001, he left $50 million with instructions to create a foundation to support charitable and educational programs that help promote and sustain the causes he championed during his 72 years of cartooning. The Herb Block Foundation is committed to defending the basic freedoms guaranteed all Americans, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice, and improving the conditions of the poor and underprivileged through the creation or support of charitable and educational programs with the same goals. The Foundation is also committed to improving educational opportunities to deserving students through post-secondary education scholarships and to promoting editorial cartooning through continuing research. The Herb Block Foundation awarded its first grants and the annual Herblock Prize in editorial cartooning in 2004. In 2011,

Ann Telnaes Ann Carolyn Telnaes (born 1960) is an American editorial cartoonist. She creates editorial cartoons in various media—animation, visual essays, live sketches, and traditional print—for the Washington Post. She also contributes to The ...

became the first female Herblock Prize finalist. In 2012,

Matt Bors Matt Bors (born 1983) is a nationally syndicated American editorial cartoonist and editor of online comics publication The Nib. Formerly the comics journalism editor for Cartoon Movement, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 and 202 ...

became the first alternative-weekly cartoonist to win the Herblock Prize. in 2014,

Jen Sorensen Jen Sorensen (born September 28, 1974, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) is an American cartoonist and illustrator who authors a weekly comic strip that often focuses on current events from a liberal perspective. Her work appears on the websites Daily ...

became the first female Herblock Prize award-winner."Jen Sorensen, 2014 Herblock Prize Winner!"
Herb Block Foundation press release (March 4, 2014).

Award recipients

Award finalists

References

External links

* {{Official, http://www.herbblockfoundation.org/herblock-prize American journalism awards Awards established in 2004 Editorial cartooning awards 2004 establishments in the United States Annual events in the United States