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I'm the London correspondent for IDG News Service, a
wire service that's part of a technology magazine group
with titles such as PC Advisor, Macworld UK, PC World,
Computerworld plus others. I cover computer security
and Microsoft Corp. plus a broad range of other topics,
such as open-source software, aimed at information
technology professionals.
How is it? I write. A lot. And very quickly.
Before moving to London, I worked for five years for
Pacific Stars and Stripes, the overseas newspaper for
U.S. military personnel in Asia. Why Korea? That's where
the job was, and it was much more exotic than my
hometown, Peoria, Illinois. No, I didn't carry a gun (I was
a civilian hire), but Stripes did have fabulous camera
equipment (Nikon D-1), so I did a lot of non-lethal
shooting (check out "Photographs").
After I resigned in 2004, I stayed in Seoul, freelancing for
publications such as the Washington Times, the San
Francisco Chronicle, Newsday, the Asia Times, the Wall
Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review,
among others.
Freelancing is a slow burn at first, but when jobs pick up
and you get published, it's a great thrill. When you finally
get paid, it's the same thrill all over again, only now you
can buy groceries.
I wrote on a wide range of topics ranging from relations
between North and South Korea, domestic politics,
defense issues, venture capital and technology. I
freelanced for IDG News Service in Seoul before taking
the London position.
Major freelance scoops: I was the first journalist to
interview Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins, a U.S. Army soldier
who defected to North Korea by crossing the
Demilitarized Zone during a routine patrol in 1965, after he
left North Korea. The interview, conducted in August
2004 in Jenkins’s Tokyo hospital room, explored the
bizarre and fascinating details of what life in North Korea
was like for 39 years.
The story originally ran in the Far Eastern Economic
Review (at the time a weekly Hong Kong-based news
magazine), and an abridged version ran in the Wall Street
Journal. The story and photo later ran on the Associated
Press wire. About 72 newspapers worldwide either ran the
story itself or cited the Far Eastern Economic Review’s
exclusive interview.
As a result, I was one of several journalists interviewed
for "Crossing the Line," a documentary by British
filmmaker Daniel Gordon about the last living American
wire service that's part of a technology magazine group
with titles such as PC Advisor, Macworld UK, PC World,
Computerworld plus others. I cover computer security
and Microsoft Corp. plus a broad range of other topics,
such as open-source software, aimed at information
technology professionals.
How is it? I write. A lot. And very quickly.
Before moving to London, I worked for five years for
Pacific Stars and Stripes, the overseas newspaper for
U.S. military personnel in Asia. Why Korea? That's where
the job was, and it was much more exotic than my
hometown, Peoria, Illinois. No, I didn't carry a gun (I was
a civilian hire), but Stripes did have fabulous camera
equipment (Nikon D-1), so I did a lot of non-lethal
shooting (check out "Photographs").
After I resigned in 2004, I stayed in Seoul, freelancing for
publications such as the Washington Times, the San
Francisco Chronicle, Newsday, the Asia Times, the Wall
Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review,
among others.
Freelancing is a slow burn at first, but when jobs pick up
and you get published, it's a great thrill. When you finally
get paid, it's the same thrill all over again, only now you
can buy groceries.
I wrote on a wide range of topics ranging from relations
between North and South Korea, domestic politics,
defense issues, venture capital and technology. I
freelanced for IDG News Service in Seoul before taking
the London position.
Major freelance scoops: I was the first journalist to
interview Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins, a U.S. Army soldier
who defected to North Korea by crossing the
Demilitarized Zone during a routine patrol in 1965, after he
left North Korea. The interview, conducted in August
2004 in Jenkins’s Tokyo hospital room, explored the
bizarre and fascinating details of what life in North Korea
was like for 39 years.
The story originally ran in the Far Eastern Economic
Review (at the time a weekly Hong Kong-based news
magazine), and an abridged version ran in the Wall Street
Journal. The story and photo later ran on the Associated
Press wire. About 72 newspapers worldwide either ran the
story itself or cited the Far Eastern Economic Review’s
exclusive interview.
As a result, I was one of several journalists interviewed
for "Crossing the Line," a documentary by British
filmmaker Daniel Gordon about the last living American
Big Ben (2007)
soldier in North Korea who defected by walking across the
border in the 1960s. The film, narrated by Christian Slater, was
shown at several film festivals worldwide. I spoke about claims
of mistreatment made by Jenkins after he left North Korea,
which are denied by James Joseph Dresnok, who maintains his
life is better in the isolated communist country than it would
have been in America.
I graduated from Eastern Illinois University, a fine school
nestled in Illinois corn fields, in 1996 with a bachelor’s
degree in journalism. After a brief, unpromising stint as a
college-educated bus boy, I took a job in the fall of 1996 as the
associate editor of The Inlander, the journal of the Inland Press
Association, a newspaper trade association near Chicago. I
interviewed publishers, news editors and advertising experts
about how they improved their papers and businesses.
Before moving to South Korea, I was a general assignment
reporter for the Peoria Journal Star for two years, digging up
both the charming and odd side of rural Illinois communities.
In my free time, I ride London's mean rutty streets on a
mountain bike. Traveling is also a passion, and since arriving in
Europe I've been to Amsterdam, Brussels, Barcelona and Paris.
I traveled a lot in Asia during the six years there: Japan, China,
Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Best,
Jeremy Kirk
If you are in public relations and are digging around for my
details, please send pitches to my work address:
jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Please do not send me marketing
material unrelated to my job.
If it's personal, use kirk.jeremy@gmail.com.
border in the 1960s. The film, narrated by Christian Slater, was
shown at several film festivals worldwide. I spoke about claims
of mistreatment made by Jenkins after he left North Korea,
which are denied by James Joseph Dresnok, who maintains his
life is better in the isolated communist country than it would
have been in America.
I graduated from Eastern Illinois University, a fine school
nestled in Illinois corn fields, in 1996 with a bachelor’s
degree in journalism. After a brief, unpromising stint as a
college-educated bus boy, I took a job in the fall of 1996 as the
associate editor of The Inlander, the journal of the Inland Press
Association, a newspaper trade association near Chicago. I
interviewed publishers, news editors and advertising experts
about how they improved their papers and businesses.
Before moving to South Korea, I was a general assignment
reporter for the Peoria Journal Star for two years, digging up
both the charming and odd side of rural Illinois communities.
In my free time, I ride London's mean rutty streets on a
mountain bike. Traveling is also a passion, and since arriving in
Europe I've been to Amsterdam, Brussels, Barcelona and Paris.
I traveled a lot in Asia during the six years there: Japan, China,
Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Best,
Jeremy Kirk
If you are in public relations and are digging around for my
details, please send pitches to my work address:
jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Please do not send me marketing
material unrelated to my job.
If it's personal, use kirk.jeremy@gmail.com.
Recent stories
August 11, 2009
Attacks on US, Korea Web Sites Leave a Winding Trail
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
LONDON -- The investigation into the attacks against high-profile Web sites in South Korea and the U.S. is a winding, twisty electronic goose chase that
may not result in a definitive conclusion on the identity of the attackers.
August 17, 2009
Georgia Cyberattacks Linked to Russian Organized Crime
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
LONDON -- The cyberattacks against Georgia a year ago were conducted in close connection with Russian criminal gangs, and the attackers likely
were tipped off about Russia's intent to invade the country, according to a new technical analysis, much of which remains secret.
August 3, 2009
Security Analyst: Las Vegas ATMs May Have Malware
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
LONDON -- The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday it is investigating a group of ATM machines in Las Vegas that are debiting people's accounts but
not dispensing cash.
August 11, 2009
Attacks on US, Korea Web Sites Leave a Winding Trail
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
LONDON -- The investigation into the attacks against high-profile Web sites in South Korea and the U.S. is a winding, twisty electronic goose chase that
may not result in a definitive conclusion on the identity of the attackers.
August 17, 2009
Georgia Cyberattacks Linked to Russian Organized Crime
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
LONDON -- The cyberattacks against Georgia a year ago were conducted in close connection with Russian criminal gangs, and the attackers likely
were tipped off about Russia's intent to invade the country, according to a new technical analysis, much of which remains secret.
August 3, 2009
Security Analyst: Las Vegas ATMs May Have Malware
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
LONDON -- The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday it is investigating a group of ATM machines in Las Vegas that are debiting people's accounts but
not dispensing cash.
Jeremy Kirk
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