2008 Inductee
John M. LaPlante, Jr.
John LaPlante was a veteran newspaper reporter and editor who spent more than 30 years covering state government, politics and other issues for The Advocate. In 1998 he began serving as editor of the newspaper’s Capitol news bureau. He was a founding board member of the National Assoc. of Capitol Reporters and Editors and former president of the Press Club of Baton Rouge. In 2001 he was awarded a master’s degree in journalism from LSU and taught journalism courses at LSU thereafter.