Lives of Consequence
Laura Sydell '83
NPR Correspondent
Fascinated by the interdependent evolution of technology and society, Sydell has developed an almost archaeological approach to this phenomenon in her role as NPR's Digital Culture Correspondent.
When Sydell started her career in technology reporting, she was, she explains, not an expert in the field. Instead, she landed a job at American Public Media's "Marketplace" because they were looking for someone who could speak about complicated issues in laymen's terms. Sydell spent two years there as a senior technology reporter before making the move to NPR.
Prior to working as a radio reporter, Sydell was on the fast-track to a law career. However, while earning a J.D. from Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, a professor made a life-altering suggestion that she try radio since she had a great voice and presence. The rest, as they say, is history.
Volunteering for the public radio station WBAI in New York City as a freelancer, Sydell discovered a passion for radio that helped her to quickly move up the ranks, holding jobs at both Fordham University and WNYC, where she worked for six years. During her early career, she covered politics, art, media, religion and entrepreneurship. At WNYC, her reports on race relations, city politics and the arts won numerous awards. Expanding her skills, she produced long-format radio documentaries 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 the University of California, Berkeley, where she currently works for NPR.
Sydell is a board member for the National Arts Journalism Program, a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to the advancement of arts journalism and criticism in the new media environment. She also serves on the board for the Center for New Media at the University of California, Berkeley.
Sydell graduated magna cum laude from William Smith College, receiving honors in history.