Ewen MacAskill (born 1951)[2] is a Scottish journalist. He worked for 22 years on The Guardian, ending his career in September 2018 as the newspaper's defence and intelligence correspondent. MacAskill was involved in preparing the publication disclosures from Edward Snowden of the activities of the American National Security Agency (NSA).

Ewen MacAskill
Born1951 (age 72–73)[1]
Glasgow, Scotland[1]
OccupationJournalist
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow[1]
Period1974–2018
Genre
Subject
Notable worksSnowden leaks
Notable awardsGeorge Polk award (2013)

Career

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MacAskill was a political editor for The Scotsman for six years (1990–96) before becoming chief political correspondent for The Guardian. In 2007, he was named Washington DC bureau chief.[3]

While based in the United States, he was involved in preparing the Edward Snowden revelations concerning the NSA for publication liaising with Snowden and his contact, Glenn Greenwald, who had brought the story to the attention of then GuardianUS editor Janine Gibson.[2] As a result of his reporting on Global surveillance disclosures, he was named co-recipient of the 2013 George Polk Award. The same reporting also contributed to the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service awarded jointly to The Guardian and The Washington Post in April 2014.[4][5] MacAskill's retirement from The Guardian was announced on 22 September 2018.[6]

MacAskill is portrayed by British actor Tom Wilkinson in the Edward Snowden biopic Snowden, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ewen MacAskill". ExpressVPN. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b Bryan Burrough, Sarah Ellison and Suzanna Andrews "The Snowden Saga: A Shadowland of Secrets and Light", Vanity Fair, May 2014
  3. ^ "Ewen MacAskill". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  4. ^ Ed Pilkington (14 April 2014). "Guardian and Washington Post win Pulitzer prize for NSA revelations". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  5. ^ Amanda Holpuch (11 April 2014). "Journalists who broke NSA story in Guardian dedicate award to Snowden". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  6. ^ Ewan MacAskill (22 September 2018). "'Nasty, nasty man': Guardian reporter on being insulted by Trump and breaking the Snowden story". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2018.