About Fred
Fred de Sam Lazaro is director of the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, a program that combines international journalism and teaching. He has served with the PBS NewsHour 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 documentary series Wide Angle. Fred has reported from more than 60 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 two honorary doctorates, numerous journalism awards and media fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Michigan. He serves on the board of Minnpost and was a trustee at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, his alma mater. He also has served on the boards of the Asian American Journalists Association and the Children's Law Center of Minnesota.
Fred’s Recent Stories
Nation Mar 19
Final Message From HEAL Africa’s ‘Mama Lyn’: Tell Them Not to CryLyn Lusi (right) with some of the women who received help from HEAL Africa. Photo by Nicole See for the NewsHour. HEAL Africa co-founder Lyn Lusi, who died Saturday from cancer at age 62, spent most of her…
World Mar 07
Anonciata’s Story: Seeking Healing After Congo’s Brutal Civil WarPhoto of Anonciata by Fred de Sam Lazaro for the PBS NewsHour. Few nations are more endowed with mineral resources than the Democratic Republic of Congo and none has endured a more staggering human cost in the scramble for…
World Aug 30
Brazil’s Shifting Views of Church, Abortion and LifestyleFamily in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Nicole See. Brazil's plummeting birth rate would seem like a triumph for the country's women's movement, which has long fought for information about, and access to, contraception. Today, in what remains the…
Health Aug 12
In Senegal, a Movement to Reject Female CircumcisionWatch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. This segment originally aired on PBS' Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. The practice of "female circumcision" is…
Health Aug 04
Reporter’s Notebook: India’s New Baby BoomIndian surrogate mothers. Photo by Fred de Sam Lazaro Thursday on the NewsHour, you'll see an excerpt of the film "Made in India," which documents the journey of an infertile American couple and their Indian surrogate. It's part of…
World Jul 15
Karachi and Mumbai: A Tale of Two MegacitiesAbdul Sattar Edhi works with the poor in Karachi, Pakistan. Photo by Nicole See/NewsHour It was a week that saw spasms of terrorist violence in the financial capitals of Pakistan and India, and quite by coincidence -- on unrelated…
World May 30
Small Enterprises Take Root in GhanaSpecial correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on what sets Ghana apart from its neighbors in its entrepreneurship efforts.
Economy Mar 30
Regulators Crack Down on Microfinance Industry in India[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Kw7qSrW1Y] New rules aimed at regulating India's microfinance industry, whose spectacular growth and near collapse strongly echo the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, are set to take effect April 1. Neighboring Bangladesh's supreme court will also resume hearing an appeal…
World Mar 18
Reporter’s Notebook: Syria’s ‘Red Lines’Poster of President Bashar al Assad in Syrian street. Photo by Nicole See Syria's government is not usually hospitable to Western journalists, and officials in Damascus' Ministry of Information seemed as surprised as my teammates, Nikki See, Tom Adair and…
Health Feb 23
Guinea Worm: Parasitic Infection Nearing ExtinctionOfficials at the Atlanta-based Carter Center said this week that the effort to eradicate the Guinea Worm parasite -- a scourge that dates back to Biblical times -- is now 99 percent complete. In an elaborate ceremony in Atlanta to…
