The Talented Mr. Davis

There's a serendipitous nature to this public affairs thing, and to reporting in general. Maybe someone at the office finds something interesting in buckets of data that blend into abject mediocrity. Perhaps an employee at the courthouse or archive points you in the right direction of something fabulous. Or not.

That's how Chris Davis from the Sarasota Herald Tribune got a tip for one of his murder stories. Someone, probably with mental problems, kept bringing up this claim; yet something else while investigating was even more interesting.

Sometimes that's how it all comes together.

Another huge factor is raw talent. Something Davis probably soaks himself in a vat of on a weekly basis. The man oozes journalism like I have never seen before.

Maybe it is the scope of his projects, which rely heavily on Computer Assisted Reporting (CAR).

Usually over the course of weeks, or months, Davis' team compiles mountains of data into accessible web applications like the ones he showed off in Tuesday's class. His staff put together records from 57 of Florida's 67 counties to demonstrate the scope of flipping houses in our state. Using unique identifiers to label and track the increase in cost of a home over a set amount of time, he showed scientifically some of the worst excesses of capitalism.

On another project his team created a database that tracks misconduct at public schools across Florida. The method: human resource and employee records cross referenced with court records for each and every school.

Not many are lucky enough to have the kind of freedom I do, Davis said.

Some aren't blessed with that kind of dedication. Or that kind of luck.