Cyrus Farivar is a freelance technology journalist, a freelance radio reporter/producer, and is a wanderlust geek who lives in the city of Oakland, California. Previously, he has lived in Lyon (France), Saint-Louis (Senegal), Melbourne (Australia), and in a small village 20 km from Geneva (Switzerland).

He is currently working on a book, tentatively titled The Internet of Elsewhere, about the history and effects of the Internet on different countries around the world, including Senegal, Iran, Estonia and South Korea. It is due out from Rutgers University Press in early 2010.

He regularly reports for National Public Radio, The World (WGBH/PRI/BBC), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

He also freelances for The Economist, Foreign Policy, Slate, The New York Times, Popular Mechanics, and Wired.

In addition, he has done radio reporting for the BBC, Latino USA and has written for Alaska Airlines Magazine, Communications of the ACM, San Francisco, PC Magazine, PC World, Macworld, The San Francisco Chronicle, MuniWireless, Mobile, Playlist, Oakland, Business 2.0, The San Mateo Daily Journal, MacAddict, The Age (Australia), and The Daily Californian, the UC Berkeley independent student newspaper.

He has a B.A. in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

He's also survived three VfDs on Wikipedia. However, on a 4th VfD attempt in February 2007, he was, in fact, deleted. He's still waiting for someone to add him back.

EXPERIENCE

Freelance Journalist, Various Publications
Report on technology for The Economist, Wired, The New York Times, Slate, Foreign Policy and others.
June '04 - Present

Freelance Radio Reporter, National Public Radio, Public Radio International
Report on technology for NPR and PRI's The World (WGBH/PRI/BBC).
December '05 - Present

Online Content Manager, 80+1
Managed blog, Twitter and online presence for Ars Electronica's 80+1 festival in Linz, Austria.
March '09 - September '09

Columnist, Machinist, Salon.com
Reported on technology for daily online technology column.
September '08 - November '08

Freelance Radio Producer, Your Call Radio, KALW 91.7 FM, San Francisco, Calif.
Organized and assisted in production of daily weekday call-in political and cultural talkshow.
March '07 - June '07

Contributing Editor, Engadget
Edited and wrote for the number one blog on the Internet. Covered live events and trade shows. Served as Senior Associate Editor for four months.
August '06 - December '06

Assistant Editor, Macworld, San Francisco, Calif.
Produced online content for magazine, including biweekly Macworld podcast and monthly Virtual CD. Also reviewed, wrote and edited as needed.
July '05 - August '06

Intern, Business 2.0 magazine, San Francisco, Calif.
Reported and fact-checked for business technology magazine.
May '04 - July '04

Freelance Reporter, Bay City News, San Francisco, Calif.
Reported on local breaking news on a weekend, part-time basis for the only wire service of the entire Bay Area.
January '04 - July '04

Freelance Reporter, The Age, Melbourne, Australia
Contracted freelance reporter for the personal technology section, LiveWire. Wrote four 1500-word cover stories. Interned at The Age from June - July '02.
July '02 - December '02

Staff Writer, The Daily Californian, Berkeley, Calif.
Reported on local science and technology for award-winning independent student newspaper of UC Berkeley. Served as editor for weekly Sci-Tech page for one year.
September '00 - May '04

EDUCATION

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York, N.Y.
M.S. in Journalism, May 2005
Courses included: Radio Workshop, Covering Regional Conflicts, Radio Documentary, Book Writing
Thesis: Murder and Vice on the Lower East Side: The Past, Present and Future of the 'Chinatown Buses' (March 21, 2005)

University of California, Berkeley
B.A. in Political Economy of Industrial Societies, May 2004
Studied from 2002 - 2003 at the Université Gaston Berger in Saint-Louis, Senegal
Thesis: "The Powerful Force": An Examination of the Internet in Senegal (April 28, 2004)

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Association of Independents in Radio - Since 2007
Society of Environmental Journalists - Since 2008

AWARDS

Hoover Media Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University - January 2011
Reporting Fellow, Toolik Field Station, Alaska - June 2010
Participant, Science Literacy Project - April 2008
Bay Area Press Club Scholarship - June 2003
University of California Regents' Scholar - August 2000
Eagle Scout - June 1999

LANGUAGES

Fluent French; intermediate knowledge of Persian; basic knowledge of Wolof, Spanish, Italian

Updated: May 16, 2009