TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - William Asbury, the former editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has died at age 90.
The News Tribune newspaper of Tacoma reports (http://is.gd/OiwHxF ) that Asbury died in Olympia last week. Asbury, a Tacoma native, joined the P-I in 1975 as a news editor and eventually become executive editor, overseeing the entire news operation.
He resigned in 1981, when the owners of the P-I and its crosstown rival, The Seattle Times, proposed a joint operating agreement. His family and former colleagues say he thought the P-I was sacrificing its financial independence by entering a deal with its competitor.
The P-I ceased print publication in 2009 but lives on as seattlepi.com.
Asbury later served in state government under Govs. John Spellman and Booth Gardner.
He is survived by his wife and five children. A memorial service is planned April 5.
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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com