Jack Ohman (born September 1, 1960) is an American editorial cartoonist and educator. He is currently a contributing opinion columnist and cartoonist for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''. He formerly worked for ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' and ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

.'' His work is syndicated nationwide to over 300 newspapers by

Tribune Media Services Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...

. In 2016, he was awarded the

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) *Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-prof ...

Early life and education

Jack Ohman was born on September 1, 1960, in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Ohman worked as a political aide for the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The party was formed by a merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minneso ...

(DFL) during his high school years in Minnesota. At age 17, Ohman worked at the ''Minnesota Daily'', the student newspaper of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. At age 19, Ohman was the youngest cartoonist ever to be nationally syndicated. His first daily newspaper job was at ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in ...

'', where he was hired in 1981. Ohman has a B.A. degree (1999) from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

Career

He worked at the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' starting in 1982; followed by work at ''The Oregonian'' in 1983. On October 29, 2012, it was announced that Ohman was stepping down as ''The Oregonians editorial cartoonist; and was subsequently hired by ''

'', in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

following the death of Rex Babin. Ohman was a regular art contributor to

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

'' television show from 1984 until 1986. He was a regular contributor to ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' and ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

'' magazines. Ohman is also the creator of the syndicated

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

Mixed Media In visual art, mixed media describes work of art, artwork in which more than one Art medium, medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different List of art media, media. M ...

'', which he drew from 1994 to 1999 and which appeared in over 170 newspapers. In 1986, through sales of copies of his cartoons about the space shuttle '' Challenger'' accident, Ohman raised over $30,000 for the families of the astronauts. It was the fifth-largest private donation in the United States. In 2001, he raised over $30,000 for the United Way September 11 Fund. His work regularly appears in most major U.S. newspapers including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', and ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''. Ohman is also a noted

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

humorist, and has published four books on the subject, including the best-selling ''Fear of Fly Fishing'', ''Get The Net'', ''An Inconvenient Trout'', and ''Angler Management'', a book of essays. He has published 10 books overall. On July 11, 2023, he was let go by the owner of the ''Sacramento Bee'',

McClatchy Newspapers McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it ...

. The editorial cartoonists of two other newspapers owned by McClatchy, Kevin Siers at the ''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' and Joel Pett at the ''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...

'', also received notice on that day. On September 26, 2023, he was hired as a contributing opinion editor for the ''

''.

Awards

Ohman has won the 1980

Sigma Delta Chi The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

Mark of Excellence Award, the 1995

Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a sharp critic of William M. Tweed, "Boss" Tweed and the T ...

Award from the

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

, the 2001 Harrison E. Salisbury Award from the

, the 2002

National Headliner Award National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (Cartoon category), the 2010 Society of Professional Journalists Award, and the 2012 Scripps Howard Journalism Award. Ohman was a finalist for the 2012

, where the judges cited his entry for his "clever daily cartoons and a distinctive Sunday panel on local issues in which his reporting was as important as his artistic execution." He was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for "cartoons that convey wry, rueful perspectives through sophisticated style that combines bold line work with subtle colors and textures." In 2006, Ohman was voted one of the top five cartoonists in the United States by the readers of ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

'' magazine. In 2019, Ohman was awarded an honorary degree by Portland State University, one of only two such degrees awarded that year.

Books

* ''Back to the '80s'' (1986) * ''Drawing Conclusions'' (1987) * ''Fear of Fly Fishing'' (1988) * ''Fishing Bass-Ackwards'' (1991) * ''Why Johnny Can't Putt...'' (1993) * ''Media Mania'' (1995) * ''Do I Have To Draw You a Picture?'' (1997) * ''Get the Net!'' (1998) * ''An Inconvenient Trout'' (2008) * ''Angler Management'' (2009) * Illustrator, ''Blowing Smoke: The Wild and Whimsical World of Cigars'' (1997), Brian McConnachie, author

References

External links

Jack Ohman page at the ''Sacramento Bee''
*
''The Oregonian'' archive of Jack Ohman cartoons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohman, Jack American editorial cartoonists American comic strip cartoonists American columnists American male journalists Journalists from Portland, Oregon Artists from Portland, Oregon Portland State University alumni Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winners University of Minnesota alumni Portland State University faculty 1960 births Living people The Oregonian people Presidents of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists