John Carlos Frey (born November 3, 1969) is a six time
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
winning Mexican-American freelance investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker and published author based in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. His investigative work has been featured on programs and networks such as
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
,
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
,
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
,
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
,
the Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...
,
Dan Rather Reports
''Dan Rather Reports'' is a weekly news television show hosted by former CBS news anchor Dan Rather and airing on AXS TV from 2006 until 2013.
The show premiered on November 14, 2006, when Rather was 75 years old. As host, correspondent, and na ...
,
Fusion TV
Fusion TV was an American pay television news and satire channel owned by Fusion Media Group, a multi-platform media company subsidiary of Univision Communications, which relied in part on the resources of its parent company's news division, Not ...
,
Current TV
Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a smalle ...
,
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
, and
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
. John Carlos Frey has also written articles for the
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
,
the Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
,
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
,
Need to Know online,
the Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...
, and
El Diario (in Spanish).
John Carlos Frey is also the author of the book, Sand and Blood about the stealth war on the US Mexico border.
Personal
Frey was born in
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
, Mexico.
His father was Swiss-American and his mother was a naturalized US citizen of Mexican descent. His family moved to
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, where he attended parochial schools, and later studied film and graduated from the
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...
. Early in his life, Frey sought to hide his Mexican heritage. "I wanted to pass as American, I didn’t want to accept that I was part Mexican," Frey said. "It was really easy to leave my culture behind."
[ Frey's mother was once picked up by ]US Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States' Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing the borders of the United States. According to its web site in 2022, its mission ...
agents and deported because she was unable to convince them of her legal status.
Acting career
Before becoming a documentary filmmaker and journalist, Frey was also an actor for several years. His acting career includes appearances in shows such as ''The Practice
''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...
'', ''Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'', '' Married... with Children'', '' JAG'', '' Weird Science'', ''Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...
'', and the film ''Freaky Friday
''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...
'', among other credits.
Documentaries
Frey's independently produced documentaries include ''Invisible Mexicans of Deer Canyon'', ''The Invisible Chapel'', '' The 800 Mile Wall'', ''One Border One Body'', and ''Life and Death on the Border''.Need To Know
The term "need to know", when used by government and other organizations (particularly those related to the military or espionage), describes the restriction of data which is considered very sensitive. Under need-to-know restrictions, even if one ...
" titled "Outlawed In Arizona", highlighting a years-long dispute over a Mexican-American studies program in Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
.
Awards
* 2019 Emmy Award Winner for Best Business Report
* 2019 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence
* 2018 Emmy Award Winner for Best Business Report
* 2018 Emmy Award Nomination for Best Investigative Report in a News Magazine
* 2018 Emmy Award Nomination for Best Business Report
* 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Documentary
* 2018 GLAAD Award Nominee - Best Journalism - News Magazine
* 2017 Emmy Award Winner - Best Investigative Report
* 2017 Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
- Florida-Best Investigative Reporting
* 2017 Headliner Award for First Place Best Documentary or Series
* 2017 Headliner Award for First Place Best of Show
* 2017 Loeb Award for "The Source"Sigma Delta Chi Award
The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...
for Best Investigative Report in a Magazine
* 2015 Emmy Award Recipient for Best Spanish Language Television Report
* 2015 Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal (IRE Medal) - Best Television Investigation - National
* 2015 New York Press Club - Best TV Documentary
* 2015 Society of Professional Journalists - New America Award
* 2015 Society of Professional Journalists - Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Documentary
* 2015 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Medal for Best Investigative Reporting for Television
* 2015 George Polk Award for Best Television Reporting
* 2015 Clarion Award for Television Reporting
* 2015 Editor and Publishers Award "Eppy" for Best Investigative Report
* 2014 Emmy Award Recipient for Best Continuing Coverage of a News Story
* 2014 IF Stone Award (Izzy) for Outstanding Independent Journalism
* 2014 National Headliner Award for PBS "Dying to Get Back"
* 2014 National Headliner Award for Washington Monthly Article, "Crossing the Line"
* 2013 Emmy Award Nomination for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine
* 2013 Emmy Award Nomination for Best Report in a News Magazine
* 201
Sidney Award
for Socially Conscious Journalism
* 2013 Clarion Award for Best Television Investigative Feature
* 2013 Society of Professional Journalists - Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Investigative Reporting for Television
* 2012 Scripps Howard Award for Broadcast Journalism
References
External links
John Carlos Frey on Twitter
John Carlos Frey on Facebook
The Gatekeeper trailer, on Youtube
- TheInvestigativeFund "The Backstory: John Carlos Frey"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, John Carlos
Living people
Mexican film directors
People from Tijuana
Mexican journalists
Male journalists
News & Documentary Emmy Award winners
Writers from Baja California
People with acquired American citizenship
1969 births
Gerald Loeb Award winners for Audio and Video