The paper began in 1869 when it launched as The Mahoning Vindicator. The paper became the Youngstown Vindicator shortly after. During the 1920s, Ku Klux Klan members began protesting outside of then owner William F. Maag, Jr.'s house in response to the paper's reporting of local KKK activities. Its reporting on the KKK, the mafia, political corruption, and big business matters garnered the paper a reputation of fearlessness. Almost 70 politicians, mafia members, and business people were convicted of criminal acts as a result of the paper's reporting in the late 1980s. The paper simply became The Vindicator since the mid 1980s.