Imagine you come across an old abandoned house perched on top of a small hill in the woods. Upon entering the house you discover the murdered body of a young family. Who did this?
That is the scene of a unsolved crime that dates back nearly 60 years and is now closer than ever to being solved. With new technologies and an ever improving system of public records investigative reporters like Chris Davis of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune are turning into true crime fighters.
Helping shed light on everything from white-collar crime to half a century old murders, the life of an investigative journalist is becoming more and more the stuff of movies.
Mr. Davis himself was involved in a large scale investigation about Florida residents flipping houses for a profit by committing fraud and gaining millions from the banks. After a lot of time invested in researching public records Davis and his team were able to point out the extravagantly large circle of criminals who defrauded the banks of Florida out of millions of dollars.
Public records can be used to trace financial transactions, which can prove to be useful in fraud cases. Davis and his team were able to obtain individual databases collected from property appraisers in individual counties to assemble a larger database of information to help identify the perpetrators.
Davis was then able to create a very intricate and informative graph that showed who exactly these people were, and how they were all linked in a spider-web type of chart. While no charges have been brought, Davis and the Herald-Tribune are safe from any libel suits because their investigation was so thorough and done with the use of public documents.
This type of reporting, writing and visual-aid construction is what I am sure most news directors could only dream of. To get it in a market the size of Sarasota is something special.
Jesus, you are a very talented story teller. I really enjoyed your lead and think this would defintely be a story I'd read entirely.
ReplyDeleteI like how you took one particular case that Davis told us about and infused the honorability of the Herald Tribune.
I also think you did a nice job trying to incorporate the many databases and sources the newspaper uses to deliver such accurate reporting.
Keep up the good work. I will be sure to follow your future stories.
Tyler you have great creative style of writing. Your blog is very conversational and I think this is a great skill to have. It seems like you have some blogging experience.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your opinion on the reporting quality of the Herald Tribune. They are a great newspaper.
Tyler, I love your writing style. You're a great story teller. I like the way you began your blog, it was interesting and definitely capturing. It made me want to read your blog post. Keep up the good details.
ReplyDeleteGreat opening, it painted the picture for the rest of your post. The details of information flowed well.
ReplyDeleteI also feel the Herald did a great job in gathering detailed information that led them to make charts out of it and build up enough information to protect them from lawsuits.
I love the opening to this blog. It grabs your attention and makes you want to read the whole thing. It points out how public records were essential to Davis' story and how any reporter can do what Davis did.
ReplyDeleteI'll mention the opening again, only because I think it's worth doing. It helps, at least from my perspective, that you seem to have a genuine interest in a good portion of your subject matter. The issues and topics don't seem forced and your posts have a nice, easy flow to them.
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ReplyDeleteGood job on the blog. The style of writing was different from anything I've read so far, especially my own. You made it interesting to read. I agree with you that the Herald did a good job in researching the topics.
Tyler, I thought you did a great job on the blog with leading it as a put yourself in this situation. I liked that as the reader and I found myself wanted to read more. I like the title and the graphic was nice. It was the first thing that caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteTop-notch opening, draws the reader in. Nice job story telling and condensing it down to the important details. I like how you also answered questions within you entry that people would ask if they were reading it through ... the sue for libel part.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post, you definitely have a talent for writing! Way to draw the audience into your story. I look forward to reading your future posts
ReplyDeleteVery well done post. I like the graphic on the left hand side and I like how you keep the reader involved in the story. I also like how you break up your paragraphs...makes for an easier read.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Tyler! I especially liked how you opened it in the lead. I agree with you that Sarasota is a great market to have the type of technology they employed in the flip fraud story and the teacher story.
ReplyDeleteYou impressed me, Tyler! I consider myself a good writer, but your writing style definitely made me second guess ;-) The introduction caught my attention right away and I think that was an interesting part of the presentation that most people can identify with.
ReplyDeleteGood points, and I love the fact you have pictures associated with your blog.
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