Paul Lewis

Keynotes by Paul Lewis focus on journalism. As an award winning journalist at The Guardian, this is a subject he is well acquainted with.

During demonstrations protesting the 2009 G20 summit in London, a man named Ian Tomlinson died. An initial postmortem investigation suggested that the cause of death was a heart attack. However, on behalf of The Guardian, Lewis obtained video footage from a visiting American investment banker's cellphone that showed Tomlinson being struck by a police offer from behind. This same officer then pushed Tomlinson to the ground. Tomlinson managed to walk away, but soon collapsed and died.

Prompted by the video footage, new postmortems were conducted which found that Tomlinson died from internal bleeding which was the direct result of the police officer's actions. This officer has been charged with manslaughter.

For his scrutiny and persistence in exposing and pursuing the Tomlinson story, Lewis was honored as the 2010 'Reporter of the Year' at the British Press Award. Keynotes by Paul Lewis explore not only the role of the fifth estate in contemporary society, but also the implications emerging media like the cellphone video he obtained, have for journalism.