Rob Tornoe is a cartoonist and writer, and is one of the last remaining sports cartoonists on staff at a newspaper. His sports cartoons appear in ''
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 ...
''. He is also a
political cartoonist
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 current ...
and his cartoons appear in
WHYY-FM
WHYY-FM (90.9 MHz, "91 FM") is a public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its broadcast tower is located in the city's Roxborough section of the city at () while its studios and offices are located on Independence Ma ...
,
The Press of Atlantic City
''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The Designated marke ...
',
The News Journal
''The News Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Wilmington, Delaware. It is headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle, and is owned by Gannett.
History
The ancestry of the News Journal reflects the mergers of ...
, and others. He has drawn political
spoofs ranging from
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
to ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...
''. In addition to cartooning, Tornoe writes for
Editor & Publisher
''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the news media industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry," with offices in Hendersonville, ...
and
Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The school is the owner of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Netw ...
about the media and the business of syndication.
Education
Tornoe graduated from
The Kubert School
The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, commonly known as The Kubert School or Joe Kubert School, is a private for-profit art school focused on cartooning and graphic art located in Madison, New Jersey. It teaches the principles of se ...
.
Awards and recognition
Tornoe has won several awards for his editorial cartooning, including "Best Cartoon" by the New Jersey chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2007 and second place in 2006.
On July 9, 2008,
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Jim McDermott
James Adelbert McDermott (born December 28, 1936) is an American politician and psychiatrist who was the U.S. representative for from 1989 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th district includes most of Seattle, Vashon Is ...
(D-Seattle) used one of Tornoe's cartoons as a backdrop for his criticism of officials of the
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
administration and what he described as their true motivations for the
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
:
Controversy
On April 9, 2008, Tornoe posted a cartoon on Politicker's New Jersey website depicting a
yarmulked, maniacally smiling Rep.
Steve Rothman
Steven Richard Rothman (born October 14, 1952) is an American former jurist and Democratic politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 9th congressional district, serving for 16 years from January 3, 1997, to January 3, 2013 ...
(D-9) about to wield a meat cleaver on Bergen County Democratic Chairman
Joe Ferriero's private parts. Meanwhile,
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
, also wearing a yarmulke, is shown holding Ferriero down for the procedure.
The cartoon poked fun at Rothman's move to keep Ferriero from endorsing Rep.
Rob Andrews
Robert Ernest Andrews (born August 4, 1957) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for from 1990 to 2014. The district included most of Camden County and parts of Burlington County and Gloucester County. He is a membe ...
in his bid for Lautenberg's Senate seat, but both the ''New Jersey Jewish Standard'' and the ''New Jersey Jewish News''
New Jersey Jewish News
as retrieved April 17, 2008. reported criticisms of the cartoon as antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
.
References
External links
*
Rob Tornoe
profile at the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists website
''PolitickerNJ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tornoe, Rob
Living people
American editorial cartoonists
American political artists
American sports cartoonists
American parodists
American comic strip cartoonists
The Kubert School alumni
Artists from Newark, New Jersey
New Jersey culture
1978 births