A one-person newsroom in Pennsylvania was first with key details of the Trump assassination attempt

Vranesevich, left, is known for his local investigative reporting.
(Beaver Countian photo)

With his internal compass focused on news that isn't being shared, John Paul Vranesevich, the owner and only full-time reporter for the Beaver Countian, in western Pennsylvania, scooped key details of the Trump shooting story before national media could confirm it. While his stories revealed "some of the U.S. Secret Service’s most dramatic failure in decades," he credits his nimble reporting to his community connections, reports Elahe Izadi of The Washington Post.

"He said that some of those long-standing sources contacted him after the rally shooting to share some of the details of what had happened that day because they were concerned that the national narrative unfolding about the shooting was inaccurate or incomplete," Izadi explains. "That it would lead the public to believe that local law enforcement had failed to do its job and had put the former president at risk."

As Vranesevich was about to publish his scoop for Beaver Countian readers, he wanted the nation to hear the details, so he "tipped off contacts on CBS’s news desk," Izadi reports. "He knew his sources would want to get their story out to a national audience. CBS News published its story hours later, crediting the Beaver Countian’s original work."

Unlike many local reporters, Vranesevich's career started with bigger name recognition as an international computer security expert and then as a writer. "After his work got the attention of the New York Times, Vanity Fair and other national press, he started the Beaver Countian as a 'one-person guerrilla journalism venture,'" Izadi writes. "He now has the help of four or five freelance editors and contributing reporters."

Bill Vidonic, a Beaver Countian freelancer, noted that "Vranesevich is seen as somewhat of a 'renegade who 'doesn’t always have to play by the rules,'" Izadi adds. Vidonic told her: “He’s been an outlier in terms of media, and I think that’s where his strength has been. A lot of people reach out to him because they don’t think he’s part of the establishment. He’s one of them.”