The first question a journalist asks when deciding whether to report a story is: What’s new? That can be a challenge when it comes to famine in Africa.
Fred de Sam Lazaro
Contributor
Fred de Sam Lazaro is director of the Project for Under-Told Stories, a program that combines international journalism and teaching, and a senior distinguished fellow at the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, in the Twin Cities and Winona, Minn. He has served with the 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 acclaimed documentary series, "Wide Angle." Fred has reported from 50 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, Minn., his alma mater. He serves on the board of MinnPost, an online nonprofit Minnesota-based news service, and also has served on the boards of the Asian American Journalists Association and the Children's Law Center of Minnesota. Fred was born in Bangalore, India and lives in St. Paul.
Posted inEnvironment
Re-greening the Sahel
Niger races to reclaim the desert through an innovative initiative that puts Nigeriens to work to help rebuild arable land and avoid famines during recurring droughts. Watch Niger Leads West Africa in Addressing Drought and Famine on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour. TRANSCRIPT: Introduction: Next: Coping with a looming famine in West Africa and […]
Posted inEnvironment, Food for 9 Billion, Food Security
Ahead of UN conference, nations’ stark contrasts become apparent
With wealthy countries distracted by other crises, hopes dim that haves and have-nots will find common ground on sustainable development.
Posted inAccountability
Business fund puts African farmers on road to market
In Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi, a new approach to small-scale farming has spread to more than 100,000 families in just four years. An organization called One Acre Fund brings struggling farmers together to establish a market community and offers them a unique investment package of seeds, fertilizer, training and market access. To provide a hedge […]