Farivar Media LLC (est. 2026) is a one-man band: Journalist. Editor. Author. Speaker. Comms.
Companies need more than just content — they need clarity. I deliver insightful communication that earns trust and cuts through the fog.
Book a free initial call with me.
cyrus@farivar.media // +1-341-758-0888
Where I’ve worked:
Past and present clients include:
👉 My interests: Silicon Valley (startups, scams, criminal justice, privacy, surveillance) ; wildfire (tech, policy, mitigation) ; bikes (MTB, gravel, bikepacking, cargo, triathlon, road) ; baseball
🕵️ I’m a veteran tech journalist, editor, and author with over two decades of experience.
🔥 In recent years, I’ve turned my attention towards the problem of destructive wildfires. As a 4th-gen Californian, I’m driven to know how we can get ourselves out of this crisis.
🧑🚒 Reporting in Oct 2020 on awful labor conditions for wildland firefighters for NBC News led me to become a new student of wildfire. The LA Fires of 2025 affected me deeply, and ultimately drove me to work at Fire Aside.
📝 During my tenure in 2025 at Fire Aside, I wrote and edited social media posts, and copy for the company’s website redesign and produced white papers like this.
🏫 I’ve taught at both the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (a school that rejected me in 2004!) and the Columbia Journalism School (which I graduated from in 2005).
🤖 In 2023, I reported extensively on AV startup Cruise’s misdeeds. I broke the story of how a car struck and dragged a San Francisco woman.
💰 I wrote the definitive 2022 Forbes profile of Heather Morgan, aka “Razzlekhan,” who admitted to being involved in a massive crypto heist. (This story was optioned for a film.)
🚙 Years before Flock Safety was founded, I obtained 4.6M license plate reader scans from the Oakland Police Department. I reported on it for Ars Technica in March 2015.
🎧 I even wrote the very first story in The New York Times about podcasting (while a graduate student!) way back in October 2004.
📰 I’ve been a staffer at Forbes (2022 – 2025), NBC News (2019 – 2022), Ars Technica (2012 – 2019), and Deutsche Welle English (2010 – 2012).
🗞️ My work has been published in The New York Times, The Economist, NPR, CBC, WIRED, Slate, and many more.
📚 I’m a two-time author: my most recent work, HABEAS DATA (2018), is an award-winning book that explores 50 years of surveillance law in America.
What I’m good at:
Journalism / Research / Analysis
As a journalist and author, I’m fluent in getting into the nitty-gritty of policy — I can read and dissect dense, detailed legalese well. I know how to find subject matter experts that can help elucidate any topic. I can understand where the loopholes or unforeseen consequences might be. (This is a lot of what my 2018 book is about.) Though I am not a lawyer, I know my way around a legal brief and opinion, too.
Writing / Comms / Story Coaching
As someone with decades of experience, I’m comfortable both writing and in broadcast media. (I used to host a weekly, internationally-syndicated radio show based in Germany.) I know how to interview, what makes for a good story, and what gets journalists’ attention.
Planning / Executing Live Events
From 2016 – 2019, I conceived of and ran Ars Technica Live (with my colleague and friend, Annalee Newitz!) where we would interview someone on stage at a local bar. We would arrange the venue with the organizers, find a video crew, book an interview subject, and make it happen. I’m happy both being on stage, and/or sitting behind the scenes. I can also prep executives and other corporate leaders for such an event.
Connecting People
As a volunteer local mountain bike coach and former VP of the Oakland Triathlon Club (2021 – 2024), I relish being the node of weak ties. I love connecting like-minded people who can bond over common interests and motivations, working towards an athletic goal, or even something as small as getting a bike rack installed.
Let’s be amazing together.
I’d love to chat in-person (I’m in Oakland but am happy to ride my bike anywhere), or by phone or video.
Schedule a meeting with me today.
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