Chris Davis: Sarasota Herald

The Chris Davis discussion made me realize that even newspaper reporters with years of experience are required to delve into public records in order to get information for their stories. One thing Davis said that really stayed with me was that whether it’s someone investigating a case as serious as a murder or something as small as property fraud, public records are the key to uncovering the truth. Davis further reiterated that the heavy uses of databases are a key component in writing any story. The people reading newspapers and magazines want to know the facts, and obtaining public records and collecting information from databases are needed to get readers attention, so that they feel like they know what’s going on.
Basically, according to Davis, public records give people a direct source of information, so reporters and investigators do not have to rely on word of mouth. Davis also mentioned that there is no easy way to write a story…it takes a lot of background research to write a convincing story.
Another interesting fact I learned from Davis’ discussion was the developments that newspapers, banks, and insurance companies—to name a few, — are entitled to receive social security numbers if they ask for them. Now it seems like the only information sealed to the public are school records and juvenile delinquent records.
Davis shared an example about how crucial public records can be used to exploit illegal activity in a specific area. He told how weeks of research and database searching led him and his team to discover a ring of property fraud that stretched from Sarasota County all the way up the state and into the panhandle. His team gathered so much information that they were able to implicate more than 100 people involved in the flipping and more than $100 million in defaults.