David and Goliath in Daytona

The Federal Communications Commission is deciding whether it should ease limits on how many media outlets a company can own in one market, but the fact is  most Americans are against media consolidation. A survey by the Media and Democracy Coalition found that 57 percent were against a company owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same market, and 70 percent thought that media consolidation was a problem.

The Background

The Davidson Family has owned the News-Journal, Daytona Beach's daily newspaper, since 1928. Family members have always been involved in the paper's operations, whether as reporters, general managers, publishers, editors, or CEO. Today, The News-Journal is Florida's only local-family-controlled daily newspaper. However, in 1968 Cox Communications acquired a 47.5 percent stake in the News-Journal as part of the purchase of the Palm Beach Post.

Cox Communications

Cox Communications is a division of Cox Enterprises, one of the nation's largest media and auto services companies. Cox owns cable television networks, newspapers (Atlanta Journal-constitution, Palm Beach Post, and Palm Beach Daily News), telephone and internet services, radio and TV stations (ABC stations WSB in Atlanta and WFTV in Orlando), as well as auto services such as autotrader.com and auction services. They have 80,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $13 billion.

Davidson Philanthropy

In the tradition of of the Carnegies and Rockefellers, the Davidson Family has had a long tradition of philanthropy in their community. They have given substantial support to the Florida International Festival, Seaside Music Theater, and many other local organizations. Tippen Davidson was also a founding member of the Florida Arts Council and one of the driving forces behind the building of the News-Journal Center, a $29 million performing arts center in the heart of Daytona Beach, which opened in 2006. The News-Journal provided $13 million toward construction in exchange for naming rights.

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