Daytona newspaper's own archives show issue was addressed in March 10, 2008 publication, despite sensational reporting earlier this month as 'news'
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DAYTONA BEACH -- Even though County Chair-elect Jason Davis told a Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter in a front page story on Dec. 6, that a charge of fraud against him a decade ago had been dropped in an interview he gave the newspaper four years ago when he was running for Congress and published, it was nonetheless reported as fresh "news."
An online search of the News-Journal's print archives shows that indeed Jason Davis was telling the truth as demonstrated in a story published March 10, 2008, on the print newspaper's local section front under the headline, "Incumbent Feeney no sure thing for House seat."
Here is what was stated verbatim: The Seminole County Sheriff's Office arrested Davis in 2001 on felony fraud charges. In 2004, the state dropped charges against him. Davis said unbeknownst to him, his wife was involved in the illegal activity.
The snapshot graphics at left show the Daytona Beach News-Journal's approach to writing a front page story on Dec. 6 critical of County Chair-elect Jason Davis and questioning his veracity, despite the availability of the newspaper's own public record of what was previously reported that Davis referred to in defending his past.
The first graphic is from the Dec. 6 story quoting Davis and portraying him as being defensive while the second graphic has the News-Journal in the same story further making Davis out to be flat out wrong.
The third graphic, however, shows that the News-Journal had indeed reported on Davis' past in 2008, through its own story database. The fourth graphic goes into detail about the 2001 arrest and the charge being dropped.
Since the Dec. 6 story was published, the News-Journal has made no attempt to correct its erroneous reporting that casts a negative light on Davis, who is to be sworn into office on Jan. 10, as the elected leader of Volusia County government.
Headline Surfer paid the $2.95 credit card fee this weekend to access the story, which was found during a cursory search that took less than two minutes to locate the reference to Davis. The same information was readily accessible to the reporter, the supervising editors and ultimately, the newspaper's top editor, Pat Rice,
Daytona Beach News-Journal Editor Pat Rice, shown at right, has not returned an e-mail request from Headline Surfer seeking an explanation as to why his newspaper published a front page story Dec. 6, on County Chair-elect Jason Davis purporting to reveal for the first time a 2001 arrest on a fraud charge that was dropped, as shown in a story written four years ago and easily accessible in the News-Journal's own archives.
Headline Surfer e-mailed Rice for an explanation as to why the Dec. 6 story was published as though it was news, even after Davis made it clear it wasn't and had already been addressed. Rice has not responded to the e-mail request for comment.
Davis and his supporters believe the News-Journal has disrespected the voice of the electorate, who by a plurality of 20,000-plus votes in the Nov. 6 general election, chose Davis, an Edgewater resident and decorated a Gulf War vet, over former County Council member Carl Persis of Ormond Beach.
A series of stories since the election have been critical of Davis, but none more so than the Dec. 6 front page story above the fold headlined, "New Volusia Chair Davis had 2001 fraud arrest; charge later dropped."
The story purported to present the arrest as news, with an accusatory tone to Davis as to why he had not disclosed it during the 2012 campaign when he ran again Persis and a third candidate, Daytona Beach attorney Ted Doran, who finished third in the primary and out of the race at that point.
Though Persis and Doran each spent close to $200,000 each to run, Davis spent a mere $10,000. And while Persis and Doran were News-Journal headline grabbers, Davis was excluded from participating in primary debate sponsored by Tiger Bay Club, a private organization of which the News-Journal is a paid member.
And despite Davis' overwhelming victory in the Nov. 6, general election, the News-Journal has written a series of stories critical of him, including the 2001 fraud arrest that was dismissed by prosecutors well in advance of his former wife's conviction in Seminole County on allegations of stealing $44,000 from her employer and depositing part of the proceeds in a joint bank account.
The News-Journal took Davis to task as in the Dec. 6 story regarding the 2001 fraud arrest, writing in part: Davis didn't mention the case throughout his campaign for county chair, in which he defeated two more prominent political figures: former County Councilman Carl Persis and Daytona Beach attorney Ted Doran.
Davis told the News-Journal in that story, "Nobody brought it up, and I didn't really think about it, because all the charges were dropped," Davis said. "I had nothing to do with what happened."
It should be noted that neither Persis nor Doran brought up their opponent's decade old arrest and subsequent dismissal during the campaign.
The News-Journal went on to explain in the same story: Davis also said he told a News-Journal reporter about the arrest during his 2008 campaign for Florida's District 24 seat in the U.S. House. That wasn't reflected in a search of News-Journal archives.
But the March 10, 2008, published News-Journal story shows clearly that Davis' fraud arrest and subsequent dismissal was, in fact, reflected in the newspaper's own archives, which the public can access on its website with the use of a credit card as Headline Surfer did over the weekend.
Davis said he's disgusted by the News-Journal's action, except to say there isn't much he can do about the situation except to continue being honest about questions asked of him by the media and the public.
"I can't let what they are doing stop me from representing the people of Volusia County," Davis told Headline Surfer. "All I can do is tell the truth when asked."
Stan Escudero, who recently stepped down as chair of the Republican executive committee of Volusia County, said, the newspaper has an obvious bias against Davis and that this will further erode its already weakened credibility as a reliable news source.
"If the News-Journal cannot find an article which they wrote and which they stored in their own archives, it is difficult to see how they can lay any claim to any capacity for investigative journalism," said Escudero, who writes a political blog for Headline Surfer.
Escudero added, "If they wish to restore credibility, they should print a front page story admitting that Davis was truthful and put an end to their campaign against a decent man who is not even sworn in yet."
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