- Jonathan Kwitny
Jonathan Kwitny (23 March 1941,
Indianapolis - 26 November 1998,New York ) was aJewish Americanwriter and investigative journalist. He received theUniversity of Missouri School of Journalism 's honor medal for career achievement. His book jacket biographies record that his reporting forcedJ. Lynn Helms , chief of theFederal Aviation Administration , to resign, and dogged PresidentRonald Reagan 's National Security AdvisorRichard V. Allen forconflicts of interest .Biography
He was born in Indianapolis in 23 March 1941 to Julia Goldberger Kwitny and Dr. I. J. Kwitny (president of the medical staff at
St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital ) [NY Times, 1993] , and graduated in 1962 from theUniversity of Missouri 's School of Journalism. He received amaster's degree in history [NY Times, 1993] in 1964 atNew York University . His newspaper career began as a reporter for "The Evening News " (ofPerth Amboy ) between 1963 & 1969 [Two of those years were spent as a volunteer inNigeria for thePeace Corps .] . He was a former front page feature writer for the "Wall Street Journal " producing front-page columns and articles about national and international topics; he joined the "Journal" in 1971 and worked there for the next seventeen years. He stayed with "The Journal" until his move to PBS in 1988. More recently, he worked for theGannett Company guiding Trenton coverage for itsNew Jersey papers . He also served as a consultant onPope John Paul for "NBC Nightly News". Kwitny also had in the 1980s aPBS series entitled "The Kwitny Report " which during its four year run won theGeorge Polk award (in 1990 ["A decade ago, Mr. Kwitny and a producer, Tom Naughton, created "The Kwitny Report" for the Public Broadcasting System. Backed by a team of reporters, Mr. Kwitny wrote and narrated the weekly national half-hour news program, which won a George Polk Award for investigative reporting in 1990." Saxon, 1998] ) for best investigative reporting ontelevision .He is also the author of a number of
non-fiction books. His fifth book ("Endless Enemies") received aPulitzer Prize nomination.He was married in 4 September 1993 under Catholic rites ["The Rev. Blase Bonpane, a Roman Catholic priest, officiated at the couple's home." NY Times, 1993] to a then-
Methodist poetWendy Wood Kwitny (his second marriage; his first wife,Martha Kaplan Kwitny , had previously died of long-termkidney disease at the age of 33), Kwitny devoted some years to completing his biography ofPope John Paul II , which he began in 1992. He died in 1998 of esophagealstomach cancer ["The cause was stomach cancer diagnosed in July, said a friend, a fellow writer Anthony Scaduto." Saxon, 1998] inMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ["Jonathan Kwitny, a journalist and author whose subjects were as varied as Mafia forays into board rooms and papal biography, died on Thursday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He was 57 and lived in Cuddebackville, N.Y., and Manhattan." Saxon, 1998.] , aged 57 [See NY Times obituary title.] . "He was survived by his second wife and their two sons and two daughters from his first marriage. His first wife died in 1978."Partial bibliography
* "Man of the Century: The Life and Times of
Pope John Paul II "
* "Acceptable Risks" (onAIDS testing)
* "The Crimes of Patriots: A True Story of Dope, Dirty Money, and theC.I.A. " (about the AustralianNugan Hand Bank scandal)
* "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" (1984; ISBN 0-14-008093-7)
* "Vicious Circles: TheMafia in the Marketplace" (1979) ISBN 0-39301-188-7
* "The Super Swindlers: The Incredible Record of America's Greatest Financial Scams" (1984; ISBN-13: 978-1561712489)References
* "Jonathan Kwitny, 57, Author And Prize-Winning Reporter", Wolfgang Saxon. "New York Times". (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Nov 28, 1998. pg. C.16
*"WEDDINGS; Jonathan Kwitny, Wendy Hood"; New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Sep 5, 1993. pg. A.11External links
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/communism/ PBS.org] "Frontline" article critical of "Man of the Century"
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D71038F936A3575AC0A965958260 Article] in "The New York Times " on Kwitny's marriage
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D9123DF936A25757C0A961948260 Article] in "The New York Times " on "The Kwitny Report"
* [http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/story39.html Article on PBS] , with a focus on why "The Kwitny Report" was canceled
* [http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-popeknow,0,6168714.story Article] fromNewsday on Wendy Kwitny's meeting with Pope John Paul the II.
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3720/is_199901/ai_n8837185#continue "Guts and accuracy--the Kwitny trademarks"] -(memorial article)Persondata
NAME=Kwitny, Jonathan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American journalist
DATE OF BIRTH=23 March 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH=Indianapolis
DATE OF DEATH=26 November 1998
PLACE OF DEATH=New York City, New York
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