The Story of THE RAG - ST. MARY'S TODAY Newspaper

In the short course of less than one year, a small-town newspaper that was run on a shoe-string was featured on the front page of two major newspapers and network news, all due to covering the news with loud, flashy headlines that ‘shouted’ the news rather than boring its readers to tears. In short, the news made news.
That was just the beginning, before long the newspaper would be the target of an organized effort by a county sheriff and his deputies and a candidate for states attorney to clean the paper off newsstands the night before an election and result in a landmark First Amendment case that is now the law of the land.
"Travel along with the most feared man in Southern Maryland. So notorious even the mob backed down. Cops who went after him found themselves in federal court on the losing side. His name is Ken Rossignol, and he packs a fully loaded Smith & Corona (or, at least, the digital equivalent).
Ken’s ammo: words. He’s a champion of the First Amendment and an old fashioned pain in the ass.
The story of St. Mary’s Today is one about advocacy journalism coming to a community where the press wasn’t known for acting this way. No more Go-along to get-along.
There wasn’t a hand providing nourishment that Rossignol wouldn’t take a little flesh and muscle from. At one point or another Ken pissed off just about everyone, including a couple of governors of Maryland and me. But he sold newspapers and those who hated him still read his words each and every week."
Dave Statter - Broadcast news reporter WUSA, WTOP in Washington, D.C. for 32 years, STATter911.com, Statter Communications LLC