To say that any of his actions since getting embroiled in the court system have been heroic is simply patronizing. 

Yes, that is true. When I used the word heroic, I was referring to John's actions prior to the court case. But mainly, I used the word heroic to generally describe John's ability to stand up for something he believed in, prior to his apology. Now, post-apology, he might be the epitome of the anti-hero.

Your point may be correct that the word heroic is used too easily. But, is it because there are no more genuine heroes to be found, hence everyone is a hero? Or is it because it has become too easy to act like a hero, through stealing electronic documents or writing scathing yet truthful articles? Has the bar been raised too high or too low? But, either way,  I personally admire John MacGregor for his heroic, defiant writing.

Regarding your last point, that confessing hostages might be sympathetic, but not heroic, I think it depends on the individual. To journalists and Daniel Pearl's family, they might consider Daniel a hero because he took a dangerous assignment, and paid for his journalistic integrity with his life. And, Daniel Pearl might not have won any Peabody awards for his Afgan articles, but he probably won awards posthumously for the journalistic qualities he represented.

In a different vein, I consider John a hero because he took great risks to himself and his relatives by writing a scathing expose on Rawat. John is also an anti-hero because he dared to accept stolen documents. He did not behave the way everyone would have expected, i.e. he made mistakes. Still, his fallability does not erase his actions. Sure, he might not have the strength of Salmon Rushdie, but he's got the same writer's heroic streak, along with the clumsy ineptitude of an anti-hero apologist.

So, Jim, in your estimation, my heroism bar may be set too low. And, I can accept that criticism. But, in these modern days of meaningless cult attacks and corrupt cult corporations, heroes are getting scarce. Maybe the concept is best left to comic books and novels. Let's call people like MacGregor "a person with integrity" and agree to move on.