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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Digital music sales are expected to reach record highs this year, and legal streaming services continue to gain in popularity. But unauthorized music file sharing is still going strong. -
There are more ways than ever to watch TV programs on the Internet, from Netflix and Amazon to Hulu. But many viewers discover that watching TV on the Web can be frustrating, as their favorite show might suddenly stop and stutter, the victim of a lack of bandwidth. -
Apple unveils a smaller version of its popular iPad tablet. NPR's Laura Sydell gets a hand-on look and finds that the iPad mini is lighter and thinner than she expected. But starting at $329, is it too expensive to compete with other small tablets?
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There is a settlement between Google and the major publishers over Google's initiative to scan the world's books.
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Musicians say they see benefits to their music and videos being on YouTube — but not much money. -
The streaming music service offers millions of songs to millions of users, but it's not yet a reliable source of income for musicians. -
Despite some limitations on the sale imposed by the European Commission, Universal will command close to 40 percent of the global market in recorded music. -
Apple debuted the iPhone 5 and other new products Wednesday in San Francisco.
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Industrial designers are conflicted over the impact a jury's decision that Samsung infringed on many of Apple's mobile phone patents. Some say it might cramp creativity. Others say it will free them from having to make designs that look just like Apple's. -
A proposed merger between EMI and Universal is drawing the scrutiny of regulators in the U.S. and Europe. -
The main human rights body of the United Nations is backing a landmark resolution that states people have a right to freedom of expression on the Internet. The resolution got nearly universal support — even from countries that censor the Internet.
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Silicon Valley has become a powerful economic engine, driven by tech-savvy entrepreneurs. But in simpler times, the area was known as the Valley of the Hearts Delight. And it took years to assemble the mix of talent, money and gumption to create America's startup hub.
