Paul Lewis

Why you should listen

Paul Lewis uses social media and cellphone video and photos to build hard-hitting stories. He first gained notice for his reporting on the death of Ian Tomlinson, when he used a witness’ cellphone video to prove that the police attacked Tomlinson at the 2009 G-20 protests. The international story led to an internal police investigation and changed the way we think about self-policing in a digital era.

He leads a team of journalists at The Guardian who specialize in using the very reporting methods he helped popularize. He reflects on citizen journalism as part of the book Investigative Journalism: Dead or Alive?

What others say

“All in all, his story was a triumph for the assertion of civil liberty, as well as a revelation about policing conduct.” — Bevins Prize, 2009