Laura Sydell
Laura Sydell fell in love with the intimate storytelling qualities of radio, which combined her passion for theatre and writing with her addiction to news. Over her career she has covered politics, arts, media, religion, and entrepreneurship. Currently Sydell is the Digital Culture Correspondent for NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and NPR.org.
Sydell's work focuses on the ways in which technology is transforming our culture and how we live. For example, she reported on robotic orchestras and independent musicians who find the Internet is a better friend than a record label as well as ways technology is changing human relationships.
Sydell has traveled through India and China to look at the impact of technology on developing nations. In China, she reported how American television programs like Lost broke past China's censors and found a devoted following among the emerging Chinese middle class. She found in India that cell phones are the computer of the masses.
Sydell teamed up with Alex Bloomberg of NPR's Planet Money team and reported on the impact of patent trolls on business and innovations particular to the tech world. The results were a series of pieces that appeared on This American Life and All Things Considered. The hour long program on This American Life "When Patents Attack! - Part 1," was honored with a Gerald Loeb Award and accolades from Investigative Reporters and Editors. A transcript of the entire show was included in The Best Business Writing of 2011 published by Columbia University Press.
Before joining NPR in 2003, Sydell served as a senior technology reporter for American Public Media's Marketplace, where her reporting focused on the human impact of new technologies and the personalities behind the Silicon Valley boom and bust.
Sydell is a proud native of New Jersey and prior to making a pilgrimage to California and taking up yoga she worked as a reporter for NPR Member Station WNYC in New York. Her reporting on race relations, city politics, and arts was honored with numerous awards from organizations such as The Newswomen's Club of New York, The New York Press Club, and The Society of Professional Journalists.
American Women in Radio and Television, The National Federation of Community Broadcasters, and Women in Communications have all honored Sydell for her long-form radio documentary work focused on individuals whose life experiences turned them into activists.
After finishing a one-year fellowship with the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University, Sydell came to San Francisco as a teaching fellow at the Graduate School of Journalism at University of California, Berkeley.
Sydell graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree from William Smith College in Geneva, New York, and earned a J.D. from Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law.
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In an open letter regarding the standoff with Apple, FBI Director James Comey said the tension between privacy and security should not be resolved by "corporations that sell stuff for a living."
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The All Writs Act of 1789 was cited by a federal magistrate in ordering Apple to unlock an iPhone. -
Apple's clash with the federal government over unlocking the phone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters has exposed how inadequate much of U.S. law is in the face of fast-evolving technologies.
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Apple says it will oppose a federal court order to assist the Justice Department in unlocking an iPhone used by one of two attackers who killed 14 office workers in San Bernardino, Calif.
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The Internet pioneer continues to lose money. Its fourth-quarter report shows a loss of $4.4 billion. Established in the days of dial-up modems, it has had trouble keeping up with life on the Web. -
Novica, a website that bills itself as the Etsy of the developing world, features more than 18,000 artisans from remote areas to whom the company has paid out more than $66.5 million. -
There's been a shakeup in the executive ranks at Twitter. CEO Jack Dorsey is overhauling key parts of the company as he seeks to address financial problems that have left investors in a sour mood.
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It fits in your hand, can connect to Wi-Fi and has Bluetooth. The $9 CHIP promises to be a teaching tool that's also fun to play with. It's just one of several low-cost computers hitting the market. -
Bowie was an explorer of what it meant to be human. In a 1999 interview, he predicted the power of the Internet — "an alien life form" — to break down the divisions between artists and the audience. -
Virtual reality enthusiasts have been upset at the non-pedestrian price tag of the highly anticipated headset. Creator Palmer Luckey says it's like PalmPilot of the 1990s: not a cheapo, but a bargain.
