Chief Investigative Journalist, Guerrilla News
Ronald E. Durbin II, J.D., leads investigations for Guerrilla News. He reports on Oklahoma government accountability: secret economic development deals, Open Meeting Act and Open Records Act violations, sheriff's offices and jails, and the officials who answer to the public.
Ron builds every story on the paper trail. He files open records requests, reads the contracts and minutes, attends the meetings and, when agencies refuse to follow the law, takes them to court. His reporting has covered data center deals in Claremore, Coweta, Piedmont, Yukon and Enid, the proposed Inola aluminum smelter, and county sheriff's offices across the state.
Ron practiced law for fifteen years. Disbarred after he publicly criticized widespread judicial corruption, he now files as a citizen: open records lawsuits, Open Meeting Act challenges and grand jury petitions.
Ron earned his law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law, where he graduated into the Order of the Barristers. He studied civil rights history at the University of Southern Mississippi and won a collegiate national championship in parliamentary debate at William Carey University.
Ron co-founded Guerrilla News with his son, Lee Durbin, who serves as News Director and Editor in Chief. He lives in Tulsa.
- J.D., University of Tulsa College of Law
- Fifteen years in law practice
- Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Focus: open records, open meetings, First Amendment and civil rights accountability
Contact Ron
- Email: ron@guerrilla.news
- Confidential tips: guerrilla.news/tips (you can stay anonymous)
- Speaking and media requests: email Ron with "Speaking" in the subject line
- Report an error: our Corrections page