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Adam’s New Year Resolutions2026

Adam’s New Year Resolutions

Published by Adam on February 1, 2026

Happy New Year! So, my first resolution for 2026 is to get back to updating this blog! (Hey look, I did it.)

It’s been a while, reader. I really do apologize for the dearth of posts over the last year. I can tell you I was not sitting on my hands. In fact, from a professional standpoint, it was not a bad year at all!

As you may know, I am an author by night and weekend. By day, I am a journalist covering the intersection of tech and legal policy. Well, at the end of 2024, I was given the privilege of becoming the deputy managing editor of a new publication covering data privacy law, enforcement and compliance. We call it Privacy Daily, and we’ve had a whirlwind–and very rewarding–first year!

So here’s what happened: I focused all my 2025 energy getting the publication off the ground and doing everything I could to make it a success. It’s gone well! However, you might say all this effort came at the cost of my creative writing, which was already taking a hit due to the challenges (and rewards) of raising a small child. No regrets on any of this! It’s just the reality of being a 40-year-old.

However, this brings me to second resolution: Get back into creative writing in 2026!

While I can’t say things have slowed down on the journalistic front, I do feel a lot more calm and confident about Privacy Daily going into year two. I think we’ve really found our groove in terms of workflow, and there’s no shortage of privacy news to write about.

So, yeah! More creative writing in 2026!To tell you the truth, it’s not like I did nothing of this kind in 2025. Since publishing my last book Utopia PR, I have been brainstorming new ideas and writing possible beginnings to new novels. It’s probably too early to announce anything, but I can tell you that I started a project recently that feels relevant and, most importantly, exciting for me to write about.

So stay tuned and hopefully I will have more to say about that soon. I’d love to get back into at least monthly updates to this blog, so if you haven’t already, please subscribe using the form below or to the left.

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Journalists are worried about trust… and 4 other big takeaways from ONA 17

Published by Adam on October 9, 2017

Just got back from the Online News Association 2017 conference in Washington, DC!

From fake news possibly influencing the election to elected leaders referring to real journalism as fake news, trust in news could be at an all-time low in the United States. As someone who cares about reporting truth with fairness and balance, I’m deeply worried about the future of journalism. Based on what I heard at this year’s ONA, I’m not the only one.

Here are some of my takeaways from the conference about how to restore trust in this critical institution:

  1. Journalists should spend quality time in local communities.

    Asma Khalid (WBUR) made a strong argument against “parachuting” into towns and neighborhoods to get the story. It’s important to be present and listen, she said. Not only will sources appreciate it, but it just might change their opinion about reporters.

  2. Newsrooms should be as diverse as America.

    Journalists are supposed to ask questions on behalf of the nation, but according to Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times Magazine, an industry dominated by white men can’t represent all of the people. News companies must consider this as they make hiring decisions, she said.

  3. Be open about where you’re coming from.

    That’s from Rob Wijnberg, editor in chief of De Correspondent. Transparency about the writer behind the story makes for more honest journalism, he said. PBS Public Editor Madhulika Sikka said it’s impossible for reporters to be completely objective because they have to live their lives outside of work: “The point is to be fair.”

  4. Fact check with public data and citations.

    Government data and other trusted information makes it difficult for critics and politicians to dispute a story, said one panel. NPR combated one senator’s Twitter criticisms of a story by coolly tweeting the facts used in its reporting, said Mark Memmott. The senator backed down.

  5. Don’t cover everything.

    There’s something to be said for “strategic silence,” said CUNY’s Molly de Aguiar. Reporters should ask if they’re giving oxygen to a fraudulent claim, inadvertently reinforcing the disinformation, she said.

ONA Reception
Journalists let off some steam at the Newseum.

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Time keeps pushing me on now

Published by Adam on September 12, 2016

So here’s an end-of-summer jam you may not have heard. It’s “El Matador” by the band Semisonic. Yeah, those guys who did “Closing Time” and “Secret Smile.” This one is off their severely underrated follow-up, which was their final LP as a group.

It’s hard to believe summer is coming to an end. Also hard to believe this was my first full American summer since 2011. My wife and I moved to Australia at the start of summer 2012, which meant that it was winter there. We came back at the end of (American) summer 2015, got a lick of the sun, then dove straight into the autumn leaves.

I’ve had a productive year since returning to Philadelphia. After regaining my bearings (I can order a “coffee,” and no one asks what kind!), I spent the first few months doing freelance work for Technical.ly Philly and a few other places. I made a brief sojourn to India (and wrote a tech story about it). In March, I got a full-time gig at Communications Daily as their Philly-based states reporter.

On the creative side, I finished writing my third novel, had it analyzed by a Bat-editor and started pitching it to agents. I’m really excited to have you read it and hope to have a better idea of the release date by the end of this year. In the meantime, I wrapped up a screenplay of We, The Watched and a few new short stories. Speaking of my debut novel, you may have seen that I received an excellent review from Kirkus. And then an even better review of the sequel, Divided We Fall. That was pretty cool.

Lately, I’ve been looking with anxiety at my long-sleeve shirts. Soon I will get/have to wear them. We’re racing toward winter and the year 2017. I don’t know exactly what the new year will hold, but my aim is to make it a big one. As Semisonic sings in their end-of-summer classic: “Time keeps pushing me on now, and I’ll ride this wave to the end.”

P.S. If you like my novels, check out the show Mr. Robot. It’s a tech-fueled dystopian rush.

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog