Just a Typical American Town

A persistent editor wins a painful victory

With its lofty church steeples, tree-lined streets and 500 parking tickets, Mansfield, Ohio (pop. 55,300), appears to embody the friendly, well-scrubbed wholesomeness that Americans have long associated with small towns Martin Yant thinks otherwise.

Nineteen months ago, Ohio-born Yant quit his job as an editor of the now defunct Chicago Daily News and at the age of 28 became editor of the prosperous Mansfield News-Journal (circ. 40,000). Since then he has been the target of telephone threats ("You're going to be dead"), a mysterious fire, a five-pound rock through his living room window and $45 million in libel suits. He has lost his job and his life savings, and his wife and four children have left him.

Yant's troubles started in May 1978 when, after only five months on the job he directed an eight-part News-Journal expose of corruption in the powerful Richland County sheriffs office, run with an iron hand for 15 years by Thomas E Weikel. The series resulted in a whirl of indictments against the sheriff and several deputies on 62 counts, including theft in office, assault and civil rights violations.

The corruption here is worse than in Chicago," declared Yant. "You don't need to dig here; all you have to do is dust."

Yant's dusting, however, began rattling a few too many skeletons, and even some of his supporters thought he was becoming overzealous. On the same day that the News-Journal printed a reader's congratulatory letter to Yant, Publisher Harry Horvitz fired him. Said Horvitz-"I questioned his responsibility."

Undaunted, Yant raised $64,000 and launched his own daily, the Ohio Observer. The first issue had 44 pages and a press run of 20,000. But advertisers drifted away, some saying they had received threats of boycotts. "It was like a crusade " remembers one of the five staff members After a suspicious fire that leveled a garage used by the Observer and libel suits from the county prosecutor and other targets of Yant's reporting, the paper was forced to close. Creditors were beating on Yant's door, and one disgruntled employe even filed charges claiming that Yant assaulted him when he tried to collect $114 in back pay.

Still unbowed, Yant began putting out a weekly investigative newsletter, called the Public Eye, from his home. It folded after eight editions. Embittered and $100,000 in debt, Yant left town for New Philadelphia, Ohio, 67 miles away. As for Sheriff Weikel, he served seven days in jail on a contempt citation for bugging the courtroom where a hearing had been under way on his brutality and theft charges, but the charges were later dismissed on a technicality.

This month Yant's lonely crusade began to bring results. A second grand jury returned a new round of indictments against Weikel. A petition was filed, signed by 6,580 citizens, calling for Weikel's removal. Last week the sheriff pleaded no contest to various misdemeanor charges and resigned from office. The felony charges were dropped. Says he:

"You can be crucified for only so long by the news media. How the hell can I fight them?"

Yant says he feels vindicated, but not completely satisfied. "Weikel is getting by with a slap on the wrist," he complains Yant is now working on a book about his experiences, while trying to straighten out his lawsuits and his life. He has gained one perspective. "I came here thinking this would be the typical mid-American city," he says. "The sad thing is, it just maybe."

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