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England named Whitefish Pilot editor

| December 29, 2021 1:00 AM

Whitney England is set to take over as the next managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot.

England joined the Pilot newsroom in August 2020. Dedicated to covering her main beats that include sports and schools, she has immersed herself into the Whitefish community.

Since she came to the Pilot, England has improved the local sports coverage as she consistently seeks input from coaches and players while spending time perfecting photos from the sidelines. Through coverage of Whitefish Schools she works to inform the public on subjects covered in school board meetings, budget items and interesting events happening within the school buildings. She also writes a variety of community profiles, business articles and news features.

“I am both humbled and honored to begin leading the Pilot as we head into the new year,” England said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue recording happenings in Whitefish that will later become the history of the town as this amazing community evolves. I strive to tell the stories that matter most to the people that live here and will continue to do so as managing editor.”

England succeeds Heidi Desch as Pilot editor. Desch is moving to a new role at the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell. Both papers are part of the Hagadone Media Montana group.

"Whitney has a strong connection to Whitefish and she's spent a great deal of time in her role as reporter and photographer getting to know the community even better," Desch said. "The Pilot will be in good hands."

England was recently recognized for her work when she earned several awards at the 2021 Montana Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest. That included a second-place award for best continuing news coverage for a series written about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Whitefish Schools. Additionally she was awarded second place in the best sports story and best sports photo categories, among others.

Before coming to the Pilot, England worked at the Daily Inter Lake as a news reporter and also the Lake County Leader in Polson as a sports reporter. She also previously worked on the digital media team at the Deseret News in Utah and had an internship as a reporter in New Zealand at a local TV station. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with an emphasis in journalism from the University of Utah in 2013.

England grew up in Colorado and spent time living in several western states before moving to Montana in 2016. Outside of journalism she enjoys spending time with her husband James and toddler son, snowboarding, fitness and adventuring outdoors.

Contact England with news items at editor@whitefishpilot.com or call the newsroom at 862-3505.