Diane Lewis (journalist)

Diane Lewis grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Jamaican immigrants.[2] Her father died when she was very young and she was raised by her single mother.[2]

Lewis obtained a bachelor's degree in English literature from Case Western University in 1975.[2] She worked for several Cleveland area publications following her graduation. She also worked as a publicist for the Cleveland Public Library.[2]

Lewis obtained a fellowship to attend the University of California at Berkeley. Lewis worked for the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Massachusetts, for three years after leaving UC Berkeley, before being hired by the Boston Globe.[2]

Diane Lewis covered a variety of beats during her early years at the Boston Globe. The topics she reported on ranged from mental health issues to the legal system.[2]

Lewis focused mainly on labor issues during her last 15 years at the newspaper.[2] She reported on the labor movement, workers' rights and immigrant exploitation. Her stories could be critical of both a company's owners and management, as well as the labor unions.[2] She was described by one Boston Globe editor as having an eye for the "underdog".[2] She often reported specifically on poor working conditions of workers, including issues related to immigrants, those earning low incomes, and workers with bad bosses.[2]

Diane Lewis was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. She died on August 14, 2007, at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. Lewis was 54 years old. A memorial service was held in Roxbury, Massachusetts.[2]

Lewis was a Boston resident. She had one daughter, Karina Sharif, who attends the Pratt Institute.[2]

• Bryan Marquard, "Diane Lewis, at 54; Globe reporter covered unions, workers rights" (obituary), Boston Globe, August 16, 2007.