Thought Leader: Fred de Sam Lazaro
Fred de Sam Lazaro is director of the Project for Under-Told Stories at St. John's University, in Collegeville, Minnesota, a program that combines international journalism and teaching. He has served with The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer since 1985 and is a regular contributor and substitute anchor for PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. He also has directed films from India and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the acclaimed documentary series, Wide Angle. Fred has reported from 35 countries: from Haiti to sub-Saharan Africa to south Asia, he has focused on stories that are under-reported in the mainstream U.S. media. In addition to regularly covering AIDS, public health concerns, development issues and social entrepreneurship, he led the first American crew to report on the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.
Fred is the recipient of an honorary doctorate, numerous journalism awards and media fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Michigan. He is a trustee at the College of St Scholastica, in Duluth, MN, his alma mater. He also has served on the boards of the Asian American Journalists Association and the Children's Law Center of Minnesota. He will be this year's commencement speaker at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
Fred was born in Bangalore, India and lives in St Paul. He is married and has three children.
Fred has written the essay, The Value of Relevance as part of the IVOH Voices & Values of Journalism Project - listen to and read the entire collection of essays here.
Fred's recent work:
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