Under-Told Stories Project

The Under-Told Stories Project works to expand, sustain and improve coverage of the world outside America in broadcast, print and emerging new media outlets.  Our challenge is to direct American eyes to the daily concerns of far away people who increasingly affect our lives.  We hope to reawaken the generous curiosity of Americans   —our students in particular— about a world we can no longer ignore.

Fred de Sam Lazaro is executive director of the Under-Told Stories Project, a program that combines international journalism and teaching at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He has served with The NewsHour since 1985 and was 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.

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Fred has reported from 62 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 three honorary doctorates, 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 serves on the board of Minnpost, an online non-profit 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. He is married and has three children.

Recent Undertold Stories Productions: 

• Rwanda Drones: https://youtu.be/jWrxMEkVIro
  

• Getting medical supplies to where they are needed fast can mean the difference between life and death outcomes, but moving them efficiently across long distances to remote and rural areas can be difficult for traditional transportation. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Rwanda on how one innovative company is leveraging new technology to accelerate these critical deliveries.
  

• Tracking Disease: https://youtu.be/1QjNk-VIK2M

• Viruses like Avian flu, Ebola and Marburg often fester in animals before moving into human populations. Animals in regions that are geographically remote present particular challenges for disease containment. But in Thailand, local residents are using technology, including digital scanning, to track animals and stop outbreaks before they start. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.

• Drug Resistant Malaria: https://youtu.be/rjhPIFPKA4s

• Malaria causes nearly half a million deaths worldwide every year. Ninety percent of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, where poor infrastructure limits delivery of drugs. But now there is worry that those drugs are losing effectiveness as disease strains become resistant. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Cambodia, where scientists are researching and tracking new outbreaks.

• Resisting Africa's Medical Brain Drain: https://youtu.be/HltYNzlqAy4‍

• A “brain drain” is sending many of Africa’s highly skilled workers abroad–and leaving a painful void in their absence. But an organization called Seed Global Health is training new medical professionals and encouraging them to remain in their native countries, where they are so desperately needed. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Uganda as part of his series Agents for Change.

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The Under-Told Stories Project works to expand, sustain and improve coverage of the world outside America in broadcast, print and emerging new media outlets. Visit their website to learn more.