William "Bill" Jones

William "Bill" Jones (MSJ65) earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee in 1964, one year prior to completing his graduate degree at Medill. Jones subsequently worked for the Chicago Tribune and remained at the paper throughout his career in journalism.

In 1971, Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. He had written a series of articles about policemen engaging in a conspiracy to direct hospital calls to private ambulance companies. In order to research the story, Jones worked as an ambulance driver and received first-aid training.   

A year after winning the Pulitzer, Jones became the Tribune’s city editor. He went on to become assistant managing editor, managing editor-news and then managing editor. In 1982, while still working for the Tribune, Jones was diagnosed with leukemia. He died of the illness in November of that year, at the age of 43.