William L. Plante Jr., a native Newburyporter who served in the Battle of the Bulge before coming home to build a newspaper career and play a pivotal role in Newburyport’s evolution, died Sunday at age 97.
In a career that spanned more than 60 years, Plante worked his way up from reporter to executive editor and general manager of the Daily News of Newburyport and its sister publications, the Gloucester Daily Times and the Salem News, in what was then Essex County Newspapers.
