Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DE FONTAINE, Edward
DE FONTAINE, Edward. (Dubuque, IA, 1930-Alexandria, VA, Apr. 23, 2002). Broadcaster. In 1945 while still in high school, De Fontaine started his radio career at KDTH as an announcer and control room operator. As the Foreign News Editor for Westinghouse Broadcasting, De Fontaine covered such stories as the East German uprisings (1953), Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation (1955), and the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon European visits.
In 1975 De Fontaine was reassigned to the United States and became the Managing Editor of Associated Press Radio Network in Washington, D.C. He was responsible for building the news gathering service into an estimated eleven hundred-station network in the United States.
In 1982 De Fontaine began work with The Voice of America, the international radio network financed by the federal government. He directed and monitored the work of the correspondent staff and developed a system of freelance reporters to supplement the professional staff. He retired as the director of operations.
In his career, De Fontaine received two Overseas Press Club awards, two Peabody awards, and a Foreign Press Club award.