Dean Fosdick Death, Obituary – Dean Fosdick has sadly passed away unexpectedly with loved ones, family and the entire community left heartbroken and in grievance, according to an online publication. The Associated Press journalist Dean Fosdick, who was responsible for filing the news alert that informed the world of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez and who directed AP’s coverage of what was then the nation’s worst oil spill, passed away on April 27 in Florida. Fosdick directed AP’s coverage of what was then the nation’s worst oil spill. He was 80. During the course of his lengthy tenure with the news agency, he served as the bureau head in Alaska for 15 years.
In this capacity, he was roused from sleep on March 24, 1989, at around 5:30 a.m., by a caller who informed him of a report that an oil tanker had run aground outside of Valdez, Alaska. Soon after, he checked with the United States Coast Guard and learned that the oil ship Exxon Valdez had collided with a reef and was releasing oil into Prince William Sound. After that, he coordinated the coverage of the spill that was carried out by more than a dozen Associated Press reporters, photographers, and editors. They were reporting on the leak that damaged coastlines and coated birds of the sea and otters with thick petroleum. Fosdick was born in Owtonna, Minnesota, on the 26th of August, 1941.
He wanted to explore the globe, so at the age of 17, he enlisted in the United States Army. After joining the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper, he was stationed in the Far East for a total of two years. Following his time in the military, he attended the University of Minnesota School of Journalism to receive both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism. After spending some time working for the Minneapolis Star newspaper and dabbling in politics, he joined the Associated Press in 1978 and began his lengthy career at the Nashville, Tennessee office.
In 1982, he was moved to the General Desk at the Associated Press in New York, and then in 1983, he was given the position of correspondent in Juneau, Alaska. In 1985, he was given the position of bureau head for Alaska, where he was responsible for mentoring younger journalists. Jim Clarke, who was recruited by Fosdick in 1993, claimed that Dean was “one of the greatest AP colleagues I’ve ever worked for,” and that he was “a steady force in Alaska journalism for more than a decade.” Clarke was quoted as saying that.