Laura Sydell formerly reported on Digital Culture for

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. She was born in

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, and is a former senior technology reporter for

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's ''

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'', and a regular reporter on for

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's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. She was a Freedom Forum Teaching Fellow at the Graduate School of Journalism at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, teaching about reporting on culture.

Education

Born and raised in

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in southwestern Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey, and part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's ...

, Sydell is a graduate of

Gill St. Bernard's School Gill St. Bernard's School is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school located along the Somerset-Morris county line between the Gladstone section of Peapack-Gladstone and Chester Township, in the U.S. state of New ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

graduate of

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, and later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the

Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the Law school in the United States, law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square, Manhattan, Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the sc ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

. In 1999, she spent a year in the fellowship program at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's National Arts Journalism Program. After finishing the fellowship, Sydell went to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to work as a teaching fellow at the Graduate School of Journalism at

Previous work and awards

While she lived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Sydell worked on ''Undercurrents'' on the

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, and had articles published in many other publications. She has also reported for other radio shows, including ''

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''. In 1991 she was the co-writer, with Dennis Bernstein of "Savings and Loan Trading Cards" from Eclipse Enterprises, illustrated by Stewart Stanyard and edited by

Catherine Yronwode Catherine Anna Yronwode (née Manfredi; May 12, 1947) is an American writer, editor, graphic designer, typesetter, and publisher with an extensive career in the comic book industry. She is also a practitioner of folk magic. Early life Catherine ...

. In 1995, she and Bernstein wrote "Friendly Dictators Trading Cards," illustrated by

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''The New Mutants (comic book), The New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and ''Elektra: Assassi ...

, and again edited by Yronwode and published by Eclipse. While a staff reporter for

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, her work won awards from The

Newswomen's Club of New York The Newswomen's Club of New York is a nonprofit organization that focuses on women working in the media in the New York City metropolitan area. Founded in 1922 as the New York Newspaper Woman's Club, it included Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Rogers R ...

, The

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, and 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, lette ...

. Her radio documentaries of activists have similarly won acclaim

American Women in Radio and Television The Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) is a nonprofit organization created by women in 1951 that works to support women in the media in the United States. About The mission of the organization is to "advance the impact of women in broadcasting a ...

, The

National Federation of Community Broadcasters The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) is a national membership organization of community-oriented, non-commercial radio stations, media organizations and producers committed to community radio in the United States. History N ...

, and

Women in Communications The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry.Kopecki, Dawn (1996). "Makeover gives group new identity, no staff". The Washington Times. It was formed as Theta ...

. In July 2011 Sydell co-reported and co-produced "When Patents Attack!" for ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'' with Alex Blumberg. The show examined the problem of patent trolls and the role of large patent collecting entities such as Intellectual Ventures in perpetuating the problem. The show was a finalist for the 2011 Radio/Audio award from

Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences a ...

, and received the 2012

Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...

for Broadcast Enterprise business journalism from the

UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management (branded as UCLA Anderson) is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The school offers MBA (full-time, part-time, executive), Post Graduate Program for Executi ...

. It is also in ''Best Business Writing of 2011. ''The following year Sydell and Blumberg produced a sequel, ''When Patents Attack! Part 2. '' On November 5, 2013 Sydell and UCLA Professor Christopher M. Kelty debated with entrepreneur and Connected Patents CEO, Jaz Banga, and media artist and entrepreneur,

Scott Snibbe Scott Snibbe (born 1969 in New York City) is an interactive media artist, author, entrepreneur, and meditation instructor who hosts the Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment meditation podcast. His first book, ''How to Train a Happy Mind'', was releas ...

, in an Oxford style debate about the state of the U.S. Patent System.http://www.zero1.org/events/oxford-style-debate, Zero1.org

References

External links

Sydell's story on Wikipedia
broadcast on ''

'' February 20, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydell, Laura 1961 births Living people American reporters and correspondents Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni Gerald Loeb Award winners for Broadcast Gill St. Bernard's School alumni People from Millburn, New Jersey