Robert Lewis (born August 19, 1943) is a Canadian journalist, author and media executive who served as editor-in-chief of ''Maclean's Magazine''. In 2018 Dundurn Press published his book, ''Power, Prime Ministers and the Press: The Battle for Truth on Parliament Hill'', a history of the Canadian Parliamentary press gallery (Dundurn Press, October 2018). In 2019 it was selected for the long list of the Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction. The book is based on interviews and

archival research Archival research is a type of research which involves seeking out and extracting evidence from archival records. These records may be held either in collecting institutions, such as libraries and museums, or in the custody of the organization ...

about the interplay between reporters and Canada's 23 prime ministers . Lewis is a former editor-in-chief of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' newsmagazine (1993–2000) and was a member of the

Parliamentary Press Gallery In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...

for more than a decade. After graduating with an English degree from Loyola College in 1964, Lewis worked as a reporter for ''The Montreal Star''. He was bureau chief for ''Time Magazine'' in Montreal (1967–1969), a correspondent in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(1969–1971) and Boston (1971–1972) and

bureau chief A news bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate a geographic location or scope of coverage: a 'Tokyo bureau' refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; 'fo ...

in Toronto (1972–1975). In 1975, Lewis became bureau chief for ''Maclean's'' in Ottawa, then ''Maclean's'' managing editor in 1982, and editor-in-chief from 1993 to the end of 2000. Lewis was responsible for the launch of the annual university rankings feature and led the team that moved ''Maclean's'' into online publishing. In 2001, Lewis joined

Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties. Operations Current television brands owned by Rogers include two television sys ...

Incorporated as vice president of content development. Since his retirement in 2008, Lewis has worked as a freelance editor and media consultant. Lewis was a member of

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

's Board of Governors. Lewis is also a founding member of the

Canadian Journalism Foundation Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is a non-profit organization that promotes Canadian journalism by celebrating journalistic achievement through an annual awards program; by operating journalism websites, J-Source.ca (Eng ...

and served as chair of the board of directors. A native of

Waterloo, Quebec Waterloo (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 4,920) is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is included in La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, in the administrative area of Estrie. Completely encircled by the township of Sheff ...

, he and Sally O'Neill, whom he married in 1967, now live in Toronto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Robert Canadian journalists 1943 births Living people