Jonathan Whitney:  

Life Jon Whitney, publisher of The Carroll County Review, has been named the 2005 Illinois Journalist of the Year. Whitney accepted the award Friday night at the 58th Annual Journalism Banquet at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. He was chosen as the journalist of the year by the NIU Department of Communication “both because of his lengthy and stellar career as a small town weekly newspaperman and also for winning a three-year long lawsuit against the Thomson School Board for their violation of the Open Meetings Act. “Whitney stood for his principles and fought for the public’s right to know. The court fight was costly, lengthy, and hard to win,” stated the evening’s program brochure. According to the request for nominations form, “The award is presented annually by the Department of Communication of Northern Illinois University to a person who has made a significant contribution to the mass media or, through them,, to the public they serve, either as a result of a single accomplishment during the past year, or through a sustained effort over a longer period of time.” Whitney was nominated for the award by Robert Watson, editor and publisher of the Mt. Carroll Mirror-Democrat and Savanna Times-Journal. In his acceptance speech Whitney thanked Watson and said, “I think the fact that Bob Watson would nominate the publisher of a competing newspaper in the tiny market that we share speaks volumes about his character and his devotion to our shared profession.” He also thanked his son and wife for their support over the 38 years he pursued his newspaper career. During his speech, Whitney gave a summary of the effort to force the Thomson School Board to comply with the open meetings act and of his challenge to their closing a meeting in November of 2001. The Review won the court battle and also was awarded its court costs totaling nearly $20,000. The school board spent almost $30,000 to fight the lawsuit. Whitney closed his speech by telling ...Expand for more