WINK reporter David Dorsey politically targets local commissioners with non-stories and questionable ‘expert’

FORT MYERS, Fla. – David Dorsey has been going after Lee County commissioners, weaponizing his reporting in what seems to be a violation of journalistic ethics.

In a report for WINK News, Dorsey said that the commissioners “could have violated Florida’s Sunshine Law,” pointing to “private, one-on-one meetings” with a developer “and/or lobbyist” before voting for a land-use amendment.

However, the report relied on the opinion of “legal experts” and didn’t involve any actual sworn testimony or a ruling from a judge, as Dorsey even noted.

An “expert” used in the report was Michael Barfield, who was described as a “paralegal” from Manatee County, having been involved in “dozens” of Sunshine Law cases.

Barfield, however, has a questionable past, calling into question his reliability as an unbiased “expert.”

For starters, Florida’s Voice obtained records from authorities indicating he was previously arrested for a “federal rule violation,” served nearly half-a-year in jail, and cannot even practice law in Florida.

On top of that, even the Sarasota Magazine wrote a lengthy piece questioning the man’s history as well. They report that Barfield was “convicted of grand larceny for passing bad checks,” and was previously arrested “multiple times for a number of felonies” like car theft, burglary and credit card fraud.

The Magazine also reported a quote from a Sarasota public official who said Barfield has “perfected” the craft of using Sunshine laws as a “tool of leverage and intimidation for those looking to advance political agendas.”

With this history, the question remains, how can he be used by WINK as a credible expert in a “neutral” news report?

Dorsey had also previously applied to be a communications specialist for Lee County, per documents obtained by Florida’s Voice – the very county whose commissioners he is targeting with reports of potentially violating Sunshine laws.

This further poses the question: is there a personal agenda at play in Dorsey’s targeting of the county’s commissioners?

“It just smells like bad journalism,” said Florida’s Voice News Director Anita Padilla. “I would not touch it with a 10-foot pole.”