Jack Windsor’s commitment to the truth stands as a lone voice in Ohio’s media coverage of COVID and Gov. DeWine’s response

His is a lonely voice that millions of Ohioans have found either comforting or infuriating.

His hard-hitting, fact-based questions at Gov. Mike DeWine’s press conferences and his thought-provoking investigative features during the COVID crisis have drawn the ire of the governor, criticism from mainstream media, and praise from citizens who recognize that the governor’s decisions are not always supported by factual data.

To Gov. DeWine, he’s a conspiracy theorist, and to his readers, he is a beacon of hope who provides insight ignored by his colleagues that otherwise would likely never be known.

He greets his Facebook followers every day with “Good morning, patriots!” and he is especially fond of “Flower Fridays’ with his daughter, Eva Grace. Yet if you read Tweets and articles written about him by reporters at daily newspapers and TV stations, you would think he is a danger to society and a disgrace to his profession.

Jack Windsor is like the Ohio State Buckeyes in college football, and President Donald J. Trump in politics. People love him or dislike him, and there is no in between.

That happens when you’re the lone media member in the state who has demonstrated a commitment to researching and questioning a narrative presented by Gov. DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health that does not reflect the truth about the COVID crisis.

“When you dig into what Gov. DeWine says at many of his press conferences and look behind the curtain at the numbers, comments, data and other factors, the level of inaccuracy and misrepresentation that happens at times is stunning,” Windsor said. “In the beginning, the policy was misaligned. Some of the tools he used early couldn’t be re-used in the fall because of their enormous negative consequence.

“He was not in an enviable spot when news of this virus broke and when infections forced him to make decisions about how to manage. But he has chosen what he hears, what he does and doesn’t’ do, and what he presents to Ohioans,” he added. “There is more to the story.”

Who is Jack Windsor? That is a question asked by many since he emerged as the “lonely voice” for Ohioans interested in transparency about COVID and Gov. DeWine’s response.

Long before he was thrust into the spotlight for his investigative pieces that challenge the accepted COVID messaging that is contrary to factual data, Windsor was “just a boy from Ashland, Ohio.”

Located around 60 miles southwest of Cleveland and 80 miles northeast of Columbus, Ashland is a small town where Windsor was born and raised. He played football and baseball and wrestled.  He graduated from Ashland High School before his path eventually led to hometown Ashland University, from where he graduated.

An entrepreneur since college, he embarked on a career as a business strategist and consultant before he entered the “new media” for the startup Richland Source in Mansfield. It was there where he discovered the impact of community journalism. 

“Words have power,” Windsor explained. “Stories we tell are ultimately the stories readers believe and live. That’s especially why it’s important to present accurate and objective information.”

Windsor’s role at the Richland County news site was at the director level and included several responsibilities, including co-facilitating a community discussion on a solution journalism project about the area’s aging population.

The topic hit home for him.  Not long before the project, his father endured a stroke and suffered through kidney and liver issues.

“He wasn’t a guy who went to a doctor or hospital – ever. I was there and able to be his voice. That opened my eyes about the need to advocate for our older loved ones,” he said. “That subject has been prominent during the COVID crisis. My heart breaks for people with family members who have serious health issues but can’t advocate for them because they are not allowed to be there with them.”

Windsor’s daily life drastically changed during the onset of the COVID crisis. Like many Ohioans, he understood the caution when Gov. DeWine started his press conferences and implemented measures for two weeks to address the virus.  As days and weeks passed, factual data did not support Gov. DeWine’s decisions, and that promoted Windsor’s presence at the pressers, representing WMFD – the Mansfield station that gave him a press pass to ask questions on behalf of viewers.

“We started to receive numerous questions from viewers and readers that were not being answered, so I sought to find answers,” Windsor said. “When I first started covering the coronavirus, it became very evident early on that it wasn’t about deaths, hospitalizations, cases or vaccines – those were measures and one of the solutions that got a lot of attention. Yet, the crux of the matter was, and still is, power – the power to make decisions.”

“We’re all in this together was a nice rallying cry but it’s not revolutionary or new.  People in communities are always ‘in it together,’ in a sense.  We always extend some level of trust, and gain some level of comfort from that idea that people will make the right decisions,” Windsor added.

“Yet this wasn’t about unity, it was about a transfer of power that took decision making authority from the individual and gave it to a few people in the executive branch. These folks then created division by assuming, and saying, that each person wasn’t capable of making sound, wise decisions,” Windsor continued. “They guilted, shamed and harassed people who questioned their policies. The government was the irrefutable answer to our problems, according to them.”

The transfer of power was packaged as a call to unity, and that was deceptive at best, Windsor explained.

Windsor first noticed the apathy of mainstream media members when he questioned the Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton about her comment regarding her preference that immunity certificates be required for Ohioans.

“Other media members responded to me behind the scenes like I had broken an unwritten rule – that what I was asking was unprofessional,” Windsor said. “As a consumer of news and information, what happened in 2020 and what continues to happen with the journalism profession, and the conduct of so-called professionals, is stunning.”

“Where is the objectivity?” he added. “What happened to pursuing the truth and presenting accurate and factual details, and letting the readers decide what they believe?”

For months, Governor DeWine has warned that COVID is searching the land “looking for bodies” and that Ohioans are at risk until most people are vaccinated. Yet, from the beginning, Gov. DeWine and Ohio Department of Health officials have not told the full COVID story, instead feeding Ohioans with chosen and sometimes incorrect or misleading information. 

For a vast majority of the population the survival rate is equal to previous flu outbreaks. For others, the virus is ugly and deadly. But for all Ohioans the policies should have matched the presence and threat of the virus at the moment.

Windsor drew simultaneous criticism and praise when he wrote an in-depth investigative piece for WMFD that showed the consistency of those inaccuracies. He detailed the timeline where Gov. DeWine:

• Canceled the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival, which was
  schedule to start March 5
• Backed a lawsuit on March 16 seeking to postpone the primary election scheduled for the next day because of fear about COVID
• Announced a two-week shelter-in-place plan on March 23 that was enforced because Ohio was in a state of emergency
• Introduced a social contract on March 23 when he promised to make decisions based
  on the best science, medicine, and data; and deploy all necessary resources; and pledged to be transparent with data

Nearly a week before the stay-at-home order was issued, Windsor pointed out, Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson modeled the COVID-19 outbreak, which Dr. Acton referenced and Gov. DeWine followed. Ferguson is the same “expert” who predicted 200 million would die from the bird flu in 2005, when 455 actually perished. In 2009, he forecast 65,000 deaths in the U.K. from swine flu. The death toll was 392.

Using Ferguson’s model as a guide, Dr. Acton guessed 100,000 Ohioans were already infected when she introduced her modeling, Windsor reported. She projected the COVID outbreak would peak in April, overwhelm hospitals, result in 62,000 new cases a day and infect up to 70 percent of Ohioans. Dr. Acton’s projections were blatantly wrong.

Determined to discover the “science” on which Gov. DeWine was basing his decisions, Windsor was the only media member asking questions to uncover the truth as millions of Ohioans suffered because of orders while hospital capacity, ICU capacity and positive cases did not remotely reach original projections.

Elective procedures were cancelled; millions of Ohioans lost their jobs and filed for unemployment; drug overdoses, suicides, domestic violence and child abuse reports increased; tens of thousands of businesses closed permanently; and seniors in facilities across the state were confined to their rooms without human interaction – many of whom died alone.

The emotional, mental, physical and economic impact of taking drastic measures early based on faulty models robbed some Ohioans of confidence in COVID policies and, worse, used one-time tools like lockdowns before conditions were at their worst. COVID is a coronavirus and the science of virology and epidemiology pointed to grater risk during traditional flu season.

Ohio has paid the price, and Windsor himself has remitted a toll in his quest for transparency.

“It was a climate of tension when press conferences were held in person, but I’m not in the news business to appease other reporters and elected officials,” Windsor said. “I became a reporter because I wanted to report the news. I didn’t want to become the news, yet in some instances, that has happened. People try to shut you up if you do not agree with them.

Windsor was the subject of a New York Times article printed last summer meant to discredit him. Mainstream media members have posted inflammatory remarks about him on Twitter and in published articles. Callers have contacted elected officials impersonating him and attempting to create friction. He’s received death threats, and detractors have contacted organizations and individuals he is affiliated with in an effort to encourage them to sever ties.

“They’ve tried to stain my reputation, but it has galvanized me and given me an added sense of purpose,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t understand the hatred. I don’t label myself as a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent. I’m a reporter committed to telling the truth and providing readers with factual information. Maybe it’s hyperbole but I want to believe there was a time when every media outlet had the same focus.”

Eva Grace, Windsor’s 8-year-old daughter, inspires her father’s resilience, he says. Flower Friday, a weekly tradition when Windsor gives Eva Grace a bouquet of flowers, is a favorite of his Facebook readers. The seemingly simple act has elevated importance amid uncertain times.

“Life was easier and simpler before last March, and now it is extremely busy and complex, but it’s important to remain true to being the best Papa I can be, which is why Flower Fridays are meaningful,” Windsor said. “Flower Friday started when my daughter, Eva Grace, was a baby. I gave her flowers when she was brought home from the hospital.

“When her mom and I separated, it was a difficult time transitioning to shared parenting and not being with her every day, so it was even more important for her to know that she is appreciated and loved,” Windsor added. “She gets those flowers every Friday, regardless of if it’s been a good week or a bad week. Love never changes, no matter what happens in life. It’s good to offer that reminder through acts of love.”

With the calendar turned to a new year, Windsor is preparing for what he calls an exciting and desperately-needed media venture. The Facebook page Jack Windsor – Investigative Reporter has grown to 24,621 followers. He is a frequent guest of talk show hosts like Mark Blaser, Bob Frantz, Mike Trivisonno, and Bill Cunningham. His Facebook Live videos with prominent COVID-19 crisis figures like modeler Dr. Douglas Frank, medical data analyst Brian Blackburn and legislators in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate are widely viewed. Many Ohioans watched Gov. DeWine’s press conference just to hear Windsor’s hard-hitting question and listen to Gov. DeWine’s response – until his media credentials were no more.

Last fall, Jack was hired as managing editor of The Ohio Star, which is operated by Michael Patrick Leahy as part of the Star News Digital Media, a family of state focused conservative news sites that also includes The Tennessee Star, The Michigan Star and The Minnesota Sun. When he left WMFD for the Ohio Star, Gov. DeWine’s communication department chose to cancel Windsor’s voice at the press conferences.

“I was told that press credentials are issued to members of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association, or a broadcast outlet or newspaper,” Windsor said. “The rules are ambiguous and inconsistently applied. There are news outlets that have been admitted into OLCA membership and afforded the opportunity to ask questions during pressers despite not having a printed newspaper, TV channel or radio station, but the Ohio Star was not given the same respect.”

Fueled by the cancel culture and the lack of objectivity in reporting across Ohio, Windsor is launching a statewide news agency focused on “transparent and authentic reporting,” he announced.

“The news business is something that found me, and I feel a profound calling to continue what we are doing as a voice of Ohioans in pursuit of objectivity and truth,” Windsor said. “I’m an entrepreneur who has found a need in the market and has developed a service to meet that need. The brand of news reporting we are doing has struck a chord, and that tells me people are tired of being misled and lied to.”

The conflict Windsor has encountered during his pursuit to tell the real COVID story has not deterred his optimism. That provides encouragement for the future.

“Simply put, the media has the opportunity to show up, learn and report back to community,” Windsor said. “I fell in love with this profession because the stories we write and say impact our communities, and when those stories are presented with objectivity, they serve a powerful purpose.

“I’ve seen first-hand how information that we have uncovered has affected people in a positive way, providing awareness they didn’t have before. If you give people the right information, they will make right decisions, and by right information, I mean the truth.” Windsor added. “We all deserve to live in a world where liberty and freedom reign, and we can trust that the news we read and hear is the actual truth.”