Jonathan Kwitny

Jonathan Kwitny (23 March 1941, Indianapolis - 26 November 1998, New York) was a Jewish American writer and investigative journalist. He received the University of Missouri School of Journalism's honor medal for career achievement. His book jacket biographies record that his reporting forced J. Lynn Helms, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, to resign, and dogged President Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor Richard V. Allen for conflicts 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 the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. He received a master's degree in history [NY Times, 1993] in 1964 at New York University. His newspaper career began as a reporter for "The Evening News" (of Perth Amboy) between 1963 & 1969 [Two of those years were spent as a volunteer in Nigeria for the Peace 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 the Gannett Company guiding Trenton coverage for its New Jersey papers. He also served as a consultant on Pope John Paul for "NBC Nightly News". Kwitny also had in the 1980s a PBS series entitled "The Kwitny Report" which during its four year run won the George 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 on television.

He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books. His fifth book ("Endless Enemies") received a Pulitzer 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 poet Wendy Wood Kwitny (his second marriage; his first wife, Martha Kaplan Kwitny, had previously died of long-term kidney disease at the age of 33), Kwitny devoted some years to completing his biography of Pope John Paul II, which he began in 1992. He died in 1998 of esophageal stomach cancer ["The cause was stomach cancer diagnosed in July, said a friend, a fellow writer Anthony Scaduto." Saxon, 1998] in Memorial 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" (on AIDS testing)
* "The Crimes of Patriots: A True Story of Dope, Dirty Money, and the C.I.A." (about the Australian Nugan Hand Bank scandal)
* "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" (1984; ISBN 0-14-008093-7)
* "Vicious Circles: The Mafia 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.11

External 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] from Newsday 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