Chattanooga Times Free Press cartoonist Clay Bennett has received the 2023 National Headliner Award for Editorial Cartoons.
Presented by The Press Club of Atlantic City, the Headliner Award is one of the oldest annual contests in the nation recognizing journalistic merit.
The judges praised Bennett's work for "generating a-ha moments, sadness and relevance. The clarity and simplicity of the artwork was excellent and the variety of topics demonstrated the depth and breadth of news events in 2022."
Bennett's work is published on the Chattanooga Times editorial page and on the Sunday Perspective section. His work is also syndicated internationally in about 100 newspapers through Counterpoint Syndication.
This is the fifth Headliner Award for Bennett, who's also received the Sigma Delta Chi Award, Overseas Press Club Award, Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. He has been named Editorial Cartoonist of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine.
"The Times Free Press is proud of this national recognition of Clay's cartoons," newspaper Editor Alison Gerber said Wednesday. "In his 15 years here in Chattanooga, he has entertained, enlightened and, yes, angered, readers with his depictions of issues of the day."
See the winning cartoons below:
The Shooting Gallery
The Delivery
Book Reviews
The Hunt
Lesson Learned
The Bear
Migrants