Several distinguished journalists including George Polk Journalism Award recipient Jerry Mitchell and PBS Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez shared their insight into the intersection of their work and their faith at the 2008 Journalism Through the Eyes of Faith Conference held this April at Bethel. Click here for the audio archives, now available through iTunes U.

In one of the Journalism Through the Eyes of Faith presentations, famed investigative journalist Mitchell urged Bethel students to persevere in their pursuit of truth, even when facing fierce opposition.

Mitchell, a reporter with the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger and an evangelical Christian, has worked since 1987 on Civil Rights era murders in the South, leading to 23 convictions. His work on 29 cold cases put five Ku Klux Klan members behind bars.

“I had friends of mine tell me to write about something else; I had calls and threats,” he said. “I even had an editor wanting me to stop. But I didn’t.”

Mitchell said the impetus came from his Christian faith: “I think being a Christian and being a journalist are synonymous in a lot of ways because both are truth-seekers,” he said. "Justice 'brings joy to the righteous and terror to evildoers.' [Prov. 21:15] I love justice because God loves justice.”

“Sure we in the press are criticized, but I happen to believe that journalism is one of the noblest professions,” Mitchell said. “We have been called to find truth and deliver it to the public clearly and succinctly.”