Jim Borgman

Since 1976, Jim Borgman has satirized politicians and newsmakers as the editorial cartoonist for The Cincinnati Enquirer. His work is syndicated nationally, to the delight of newspaper readers across America. He won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1991. As co-creator (with Jerry Scott) of the comic strip, Zits, Borgman's work now reaches every corner of the globe. Jim Borgman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a product of its blue-collar schools and neighborhoods. A 1976 graduate of Kenyon College, he was hired as the Enquirer's daily cartoonist one week after graduation, on the strength of the weekly cartoon he had drawn for the Kenyon Collegian. As a result he became, he says, "the first Kenyon art major ever to repay his student loan." Borgman squirms at any attempt to label him politically. "If the crowd starts leaning one way, I instinctively lean the other way" He calls his editorial cartons "works in progress... done in the spirit of firing up the American debate." In 1997, Borgman teamed up with Jerry Scott to create the daily comic strip, Zits, chronicling the life and times of 15-year-old Jeremy Duncan. Within one year, Zits was syndicated to over 500 newspapers. It now appears in nearly 1,000 newspapers worldwide and has twice been voted Best Comic Strip by the National Cartoonists Society. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1992 Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, he discusses his career as a political cartoonist. He encourages the Academy' student delegates to listen to their inner voices and create a serene space in their lives for creativity to flourish.