Al Lewis is an American journalist who has served as a columnist for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

Sunday'' and

MarketWatch MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Barron's'', it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. Histor ...

. On April 1, 2016, he became business editor of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''.

Career

Lewis grew up in

Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County, Illinois, Lake County. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 35,222. When incorpo ...

, and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from

MacMurray College MacMurray College was a private college in Jacksonville, Illinois. Its enrollment in fall 2015 was 570. Founded in 1846, the college closed in May 2020. History Although founded in 1846 by a group of Methodist clergymen as the Illinois Confer ...

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...

, and a master's degree in public affairs reporting from the

University of Illinois Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois ...

. He has worked as either a financial writer or editor since 1985, including stints at the ''

Amarillo Globe-News The ''Amarillo Globe-News'' is a daily newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by Gannett. The newspaper is based at downtown's FirstBank Southwest Tower, but is printed at a facility in Lubbock. History The current-day ''Globe-News'' is a combina ...

'',''

The Gazette (Colorado Springs) ''The Gazette'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. ...

'', and the defunct ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

''. From 2001 to 2008, he was business columnist at ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

''. From 2008 until 2013, he authored "Al's Emporium", a column for

Dow Jones Newswires Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour. The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's'', '' MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'', ''Financial News'' and ''Private E ...

, a service of Dow Jones & Co. A column he wrote through 2013 for ''The Wall Street Journal Sunday'' appeared in about 70 newspapers nationwide; the edition was discontinued in 2015. From 2014 to 2016, Lewis was editor in chief of ''

South Florida Business Journal South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

''. Through 2015, Lewis also wrote a blog calle
Tell It To Al
and over several years, he frequently appeared on

Fox Business Network Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue ...

and Denver's NBC affiliate,

KUSA (TV) KUSA (channel 9) is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD (channel 20). Both stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's S ...

. Lewis often writes about big business, especially through interviews. His work is said to chronicle the human drama of business. To critics who call him "much more of a socialist than a free marketeer," Lewis responded thus in his final ''Wall Street Journal Sunday'' column: "I admire entrepreneurs and seek free enterprise for all. Unfortunately, some things stand in the way, including tyrants, idiots, and ideologies. And when you're a columnist, it's your job to point this out." The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

, the

Colorado Press Association The Colorado Press Association is a non-profit association dedicated to promoting the newspaper industry in Colorado. __TOC__ History The Colorado State Press Association was formed in Denver, Colorado on August 8, 1878. In 1889, J.D. Dillenback ...

, and the

Daniels College of Business The Daniels College of Business is one of twelve graduate programs at the University of Denver. Founded in 1908, the Daniels College of Business is the eighth oldest business school in the United States. Daniels currently enrolls approximately ...

at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

have honored Lewis for his writing and reporting. He also received column-writing awards from the

Society of American Business Editors and Writers The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing is an association of business journalists. Originally founded as the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, in 2018, it changed its name "as part of a broader effort to embrace a g ...

each year between 2006 and 2011. "Lewis shows that business writing can be fun and interesting as well as informative," a panel of SABEW judges wrote. Lewis won the William R. Clabby Dow Jones Newswires Award for his work in 2008 and 2009.

Career

References

External links