# William Crawley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Crawley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Crawley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawley > Source revision: 1345886278 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Northern Irish journalist}} {{Similar names}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''William Crawley''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MRIA}} is a Belfast-born [BBC](/source/BBC) [journalist](/source/journalist) and [broadcaster](/source/News_presenter). He is the presenter of ''Talkback'', a daily radio programme on [BBC Radio Ulster](/source/BBC_Radio_Ulster), and he is a presenter of ''[Sunday](/source/Sunday_(radio_programme))'' on [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4).{{Cite web|title = Sunday - Presenters - BBC Radio 4|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3chNJx3CjGTSzgQKS0F6x8w/presenters|website = BBC|access-date = 2015-09-16}} He has also made several television series for [BBC Northern Ireland](/source/BBC_Northern_Ireland). ==Early life== William Hugh Galloway Crawley was born and raised in North [Belfast](/source/Belfast). He was educated at Grove Primary School, [Dunlambert Secondary School](/source/Castle_High_School%2C_Belfast), [Belfast Royal Academy](/source/Belfast_Royal_Academy) and [Queen's University](/source/Queen's_University_Belfast), where he studied [Philosophy](/source/Philosophy) (B.A., M.Phil.). He read [Theology](/source/Theology) (M.Div.) at [Princeton Theological Seminary](/source/Princeton_Theological_Seminary). In 1999 Crawley was awarded a [PhD](/source/PhD) by Queen's for a thesis on the epistemology of the American philosopher [Alvin Plantinga](/source/Alvin_Plantinga).{{cite thesis |last1=Crawley |first1=William Hugh Galloway |title=Faith and warrant : a study of Alvin Plantinga's epistemology of religious belief. (PhD dissertation) |date=1999 |publisher=Queen's University |location=Belfast |url=https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.287403 |access-date=3 June 2022 |type=Ph.D |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603114617/https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.287403 |url-status=dead }} Prior to his career in the media, Crawley worked as a university lecturer in Philosophy and Theology. Having been licensed, then subsequently ordained into the ministry of the [Presbyterian Church in Ireland](/source/Presbyterian_Church_in_Ireland) in the mid-1990s, he worked as assistant minister in First Presbyterian Church, New York City, and Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, Belfast, before serving as [Presbyterian](/source/Presbyterian) chaplain at the [University of Ulster](/source/University_of_Ulster). He later resigned from the ordained ministry and from membership of the church before beginning his career as a journalist. He has described himself as "a lapsed Protestant."Crawley, William; ''Malachi O'Doherty's Empty Pulpits'', [https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2008/09/malachi_odohertys_empty_pulpit.html#more Will & Testament Blog, 24 September 2008] ==Television programmes== * ''Blueprint NI'', a three-part series examining Ireland's natural history, first broadcast in 2008. * The late-night television interview show, ''William Crawley Meets...'', a series of 30 minutes in duration with leading thinkers and social reformers from across the world, including the philosopher [Peter Singer](/source/Peter_Singer), the scientist [Richard Dawkins](/source/Richard_Dawkins), the writer and broadcaster [Melvyn Bragg](/source/Melvyn_Bragg), and the gay bishop [Gene Robinson](/source/Gene_Robinson). * ''Frozen North'' ([BBC One](/source/BBC_One_Northern_Ireland), 2008), a documentary examining the possible future impact of [global warming](/source/global_warming). * ''Festival Nights'' ([BBC Two](/source/BBC_Two_Northern_Ireland)), television coverage of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 [Belfast Festival at Queens](/source/Belfast_Festival_at_Queens). * [''Hearts and Minds''](/source/Hearts_and_Minds_(BBC))'','' a Northern Ireland politics programme. * ''What's Wrong With ...?'' ([BBC One](/source/BBC_One)), a six-part round-table current affairs discussion programme. * ''More Than Meets The Eye'' ([BBC Two](/source/BBC_Two), 2008), a series investigating folklore in contemporary Ireland. * He anchored the BBC's live coverage of the Queen's official visit to Northern Ireland in 2008. * In 2010, he presented an episode of ''Spotlight'' ([BBC One NI](/source/BBC_One_Northern_Ireland)) concerning the Vatican. * In 2012, he wrote and presented a 60-minute documentary exploring the history of the Ulster Covenant. * In 2013, his series ''An Independent People'' examined the history of Ireland's Presbyterians. * His 2013 one-hour documentary ''It's a Blas'' followed his year-long effort to learn Irish sufficiently well to present a live [radio programme in the language](/source/Blas_(Radio_Ulster)). * The 2013 programme ''The Man Who Shrank The World'' told the story of the engineering feat carried out by the scientist Lord Kelvin in the creation of a transatlantic communications cable was made as part of the ''Groundbreakers'' series for BBC Four. * His 2014 four-part series for [BBC Two Northern Ireland](/source/BBC_Two_Northern_Ireland), ''It's a Brave New World -- New Zealand'', examined the links between Northern Ireland and New Zealand. * 2015 Brave New World: USA (4 part series). * 2016 Brave New World: Australia (4 part series). * 2017 Brave New World: Canada (4 part series). * 2018 Brave New World: Bringing It Home (1 episode). * 2019 Spend It Like Stormont. == Radio programmes == * He presented ''[Sunday Sequence](/source/Sunday_Sequence_(BBC_Radio_Ulster))'' on [BBC Radio Ulster](/source/BBC_Radio_Ulster) from 2002 to 2014. * Since 2008, he has presented ''[Sunday](/source/Sunday_(radio_programme))'' on BBC Radio 4. * He has presented the daily radio phone-in show ''Talkback'' on [BBC Radio Ulster](/source/BBC_Radio_Ulster) since 2015. * He has presented Radio 4's Beyond Belief and The Moral Maze. ==Awards and memberships== * Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts ([FRSA](/source/FRSA)). * Fellow of the [British-American Project](/source/British-American_Project). * Recipient of Eisenhower Fellowship (2012). * Honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Lit.), [Queen's University Belfast](/source/Queen's_University_Belfast), 2012, for services to broadcasting. * Andrew Cross Award for Speech Broadcaster of the Year 2006, and other programme content awards. * Thinker and Explainer of the Year, Slugger O'Toole/Channel 4 Political Awards 2011. * Aisling Award, 2013, for contribution to Irish language broadcasting. * Patron, [Belfast Film Festival](/source/Belfast_Film_Festival). * Member of advisory board of ''Irish Pages: A Journal of Contemporary Writing''. * 2015 Royal Television Society Documentary Award for Brave New World: New Zealand. * Member of the [Royal Irish Academy](/source/Royal_Irish_Academy).{{cite web |url=https://www.ria.ie/ga/node/98096 |title=27 New Members elected to the Academy |work=Royal Irish Academy |date=24 May 2019 |access-date=27 Nov 2021 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111115940/https://www.ria.ie/ga/node/98096 |url-status=dead }} *2022 IMRO Speech Broadcaster of the Year (Gold Award). ==References== {{reflist|2}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawley, William}} Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists Category:BBC Radio Ulster presenters Category:Television personalities from Northern Ireland Category:People educated at the Belfast Royal Academy Category:Radio personalities from Northern Ireland Category:Television presenters from Northern Ireland Category:Living people Category:Members of the Royal Irish Academy Category:Year of birth missing (living people) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Crawley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.