Blackwell came to CNN from WPBF 25 News in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he served as an anchor for the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. He has been honored with an Emmy award, several regional Emmy nominations, two Telly awards, several Associated Press awards and honors from the Society of Professional Journalists. He also earned the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and the UNITY Award, both from the Radio Television Digital News Association, for a special report on the disproportionate drop out rate amongst young black men.

 

 

Prior to his tenure at WPBF, Blackwell worked for WTLV/WJXX in Jacksonville, Fla. He broke into journalism writing for the Community Times newspaper in Columbia, Md. He worked as a producer for Radio11 WBAL in Baltimore and as a co-producer for WHUT-TV in Washington. He also worked for WPMT-TV in York, Penn., and WHAG-TV in Hagerstown, Md.