The Times of Wayne County has a circulation of about 6,000 in upper New York State, and its publisher, Ron Holdraker, feels he has a journalistic duty to his community. One of those duties is to help protect the people who live there, in any way he can. So Holdraker publishes the names of convicted sex offenders who lived in the area--not buried in the back of the paper, but in full view of even the most casual reader.
It didn't go over well with everyone. People preferred to think of their community as idyllic, sheltered from the realities of the world. They blamed Holdraker for shedding light on a previously dark corner of their reality, and Holdraker came right back at them: The label of "Ron Mudraker" has been hurled at him many times. "If my bringing out and informing our readership of a social ill or problem saves one child from the hell that some have been through, if neighbors are made aware of potential evils and dangers that live among us, then I gladly accept the name-calling," Holdraker has said.
Of course, it wasn't only name-calling. Holdraker received threatening phone calls at 3:00 in the morning as well as diatribes written about him and his policies. Both his newspaper and his persibak safety were in jeopardy. Nonetheless, he persisted. As he said in an editorial from 1993:
"This paper will print parole/release/probation notifications whenever they become available. . . . These notifications are not meant to indicate any wrongdoing on the part of the parole/release/probation individual. They are simply meant to notify the community".
Just below that paragraph was one of those notifications: a 21-year-old man released from prison on good behavior. The man had moved to a nearby mobile home park, and, according to law enforcement officials, should not be allowed around any children under the age of 17.
Ron Holdraker says publishing that information is simply what responsible journalists do.
Update: Holdraker is still calling 'em like he sees 'em. Follow his work at the link below!