Cornerstone University to Host Journalist David Blevins
David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent for Sky News, will speak at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20 in Cornerstone University’s Gainey Conference Center on the role of the media in Northern Ireland’s peace process.
Blevins’ speaking engagement at Cornerstone is being sponsored by The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute, The Media Project and The NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ). He is being hosted by Dr. Matt Bonzo, director of the Institute for Christianity and Cultural Engagement at Cornerstone University, and Dr. Alan Blanchard, associate professor of journalism. Blevins is being accompanied by Paul Glader, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal and currently director of NYCJ.
A reporter with the London-based rolling news network for 15 years, Blevins grew up in Northern Ireland during the conflict and witnessed first-hand the region’s inspirational journey from war to peace. Blevins reported the brokering of the historic Good Friday Agreement and was nominated the Royal Television Society Award for his coverage of the Omagh bombing, in which 29 people were killed.
Blevins said, “Professionally, I’ve reported the journey from history of conflict to hope of peace and how the political process brought those two things together … made them rhyme, so to speak. Personally, my history was journalism, my hope was my faith (and theology) and ultimately, I’ve been able to make those rhyme too!”
Blevins left journalism to obtain a graduate degree in theology but came back to the news business, realizing it was his highest calling. He will speak about truth telling in the public square and why professionals of Christian conviction belong in newsrooms globally. He brings in explanations on Irish literature and lore with the theme of “Making Hope & History Rhyme.”
Blevins has an undergraduate diploma in journalism, a post-graduate degree in theology and a keen interest in the reporting of faith issues, particularly in places where religion has been an element of conflict.
