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'''Michael Patrick Dunne''', known as '''Mike Dunne''' (June 21, 1949 – July 8, 2007), was a [[newspaper]] reporter, [[author]], and [[professor]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]], who later specialized in [[conservation]] issues. He exposed the dangers of "Cancer Alley," a term used to refer to Louisiana's petrochemical corridor. It was [[cancer]] that would cause Dunne's own death at the age of fifty-eight.
'''Michael Patrick Dunne''', known as '''Mike Dunne''' (June 21, 1949 – July 8, 2007), was a [[newspaper]] reporter, [[author]], and [[professor]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]], who later specialized in [[conservation]] issues. He exposed the dangers of "Cancer Alley," a term used to refer to Louisiana's petrochemical corridor. It was [[cancer]] that would cause Dunne's own death at the age of fifty-eight.
==Background==
Dunne was born in [[New Orleans]] to William Victor Dunne (1914–1997) and the former Geraldine Helen Kussmann (1918-2008). He served in the [[United States Army]] and earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast [[journalism]] in 1974 from [[Louisiana State University]] in Baton Rouge.<ref name=bio/>
==Career==
Dunne worked for newspapers in [[Alabama]], [[Florida]], and New Orleans, as well as ''The Alexandria Town Talk'' in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Louisiana. He was a second assistant city editor on the former ''Baton Rouge State-Times.'' He moved to general reporting and the copy desk at ''The Baton Rouge Advocate'' in the early 1980s. He became an investigative reporter for WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge but in 1993 returned to ''The Advocate.'' He taught journalism as an adjunct professor in the Douglas Manship School of Mass Communications at LSU.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=90472803|title=Michael Patrick Dunne|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate|date=July 10, 2007|accessdate=May 23, 2015}}</ref>
Dunne was born in [[New Orleans]] to William Victor Dunne (1914–1997) and the former Geraldine Helen Kussmann (born 1918). He served in the [[United States Army]] and earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast [[journalism]] in 1974 from [[Louisiana State University]] in Baton Rouge. He worked for newspapers in [[Alabama]], [[Florida]], and New Orleans, as well as 'The Alexandria Town Talk]' in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. He was a second assistant city editor on the former ''Baton Rouge State-Times.'' He moved to general reporting and the copy desk at ''The Baton Rouge Advocate'' in the early 1980s. He became an investigative reporter for WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge but in 1993 returned to ''The Advocate.'' He also taught journalism as an adjunct professor in the Douglas Manship School of Mass Communications at LSU.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=90472803|title=Michael Patrick Dunne|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate|date=July 10, 2007|accessdate=May 23, 2015}}</ref>
Dunne won journalism awards for general assignment reporting and coverage of the police, courts, education, city hall, and the environment. In the late 1980s, Dunne and ''The Advocate'' reporter Bob Anderson received national honors three times in a year for stories on coastal erosion]and a series on air pollution. Dunne was a two-time winner of the Scripps-Howard Foundation's Edward J. Meeman Award, named for a prominent [[Tennessee]] journalist. In the spring of 2007, with his health in decline, Dunne received the first "America's Wetland Conservationist of the Year" award for stories on threats to the Louisiana [[Gulf Coast]].<ref name=bio/>
Dunne won journalism awards for general assignment reporting and coverage of the police, courts, education, city hall, and the environment. In the late 1980s, Dunne and ''The Advocate'' reporter Bob Anderson received national honors three times in a year for stories on coastal erosion]and a series on air pollution. Dunne was a two-time winner of the Scripps-Howard Foundation's Edward J. Meeman Award, named for a prominent [[Tennessee]] journalist. In the spring of 2007, with his health in decline, Dunne received the first "America's Wetland Conservationist of the Year" award for stories on threats to the Louisiana [[Gulf Coast]].<ref name=bio/>
Himself an [[Eagle Scout]], Dunne was a volunteer with the Istrouma Area Council of the [[Boy Scouts]]. He also worked with [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] and was a board member of the O'Brien House in Baton Rouge.<ref name=bio/>
Himself an [[Eagle Scout]], Dunne was a volunteer with the Istrouma Area Council of the [[Boy Scouts]]. He also worked with [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] and was a board member of the O'Brien House in Baton Rouge.<ref name=bio/>
==Death==
Dunne underwent [[chemotherapy]] for his cancer. His body was [[Cremation|cremated]]. Memorial services were held on July 11, 2007, at St. Aloysius [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic Church]] in Baton Rouge. His ashes were distributed by his sons at his favorite places.<ref name=bio/> Dunne's friend and environmental-issues colleague Robert McClure of [[Seattle]], [[Washington]], described Dunne as "all about helping others. He had a big heart, an open source list, and a hearty word of encouragement for any reporter who turned to him for help."
Dunne underwent [[chemotherapy]] for his cancer. His body was [[Cremation|cremated]]. Memorial services were held on July 11, 2007, at St. Aloysius [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic Church]] in Baton Rouge. His ashes were distributed by his sons at his favorite places.<ref name=bio/> Dunne's friend and environmental-issues colleague Robert McClure of [[Seattle]], [[Washington]], described Dunne as "all about helping others. He had a big heart, an open source list, and a hearty word of encouragement for any reporter who turned to him for help."
In addition to his mother, Dunne was survived by his wife, the former Freda Claire Yarbrough, New Media Director at ''The Advocate;'' sons, William Bradford Pipes Dunne of Monterey, [[California]], and Dylan William Dunne of Baton Rouge; two sisters, Kathleen Lee Dunne Galliand and her husband, Ronald Victor Galliand, of Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish, and Deborah Lee Dunne Brennan and her husband, James Christopher Brennan, of [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]].<ref name=bio/>
In addition to his mother, Dunne was survived by his wife, the former Freda Claire Yarbrough, New Media Director at ''The Advocate;'' sons, William Bradford Pipes Dunne of Monterey, [[California]], and Dylan William Dunne of Baton Rouge; two sisters, Kathleen Lee Dunne Galliand and her husband, Ronald Victor Galliand, of Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish, and Deborah Lee Dunne Brennan and her husband, James Christopher Brennan, of [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]].<ref name=bio/>
Dunne was the third ''Morning Advocate'' news staffer to die in 2007. Capitol bureau chief [[John LaPlante, Jr.]], drowned in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] near [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], [[Texas]], on April 14; Laurie Smith Anderson, a health and medical writer who wrote "The Patient Person" column, died on May 9 after her battle with cancer, and Dunne succumbed to the disease on July 8.
Dunne was the third ''Morning Advocate'' news staffer to die in 2007. Capitol bureau chief [[John LaPlante, Jr.]], drowned in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] near [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], [[Texas]], on April 14; Laurie Smith Anderson, a health and medical writer who wrote "The Patient Person" column, died on May 9 after her battle with cancer, and Dunne succumbed to the disease on July 8.