John Carlos Frey

John Carlos Frey (born November 3, 1969) is a six time Emmy Award winning Mexican-American freelance investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker and published author based in Los Angeles, California. His investigative work has been featured on programs and networks such as 60 Minutes, PBS, NBC News, CBS News, the Weather Channel, Dan Rather Reports, Fusion TV, Current TV, Univision, and Telemundo. John Carlos Frey has also written articles for the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, Salon, Need to Know online, the Washington Monthly, 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, Mexico. His father was Swiss-American and his mother was a naturalized US citizen of Mexican descent. His family moved to San Diego, California, where he attended parochial schools, and later studied film and graduated from the University of San Diego. 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 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, Days of Our Lives, Married... with Children, JAG, Weird Science, Party of Five, and the film Freaky Friday, 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.
Frey was the main correspondent for the February 15, 2013, episode of PBS's "Need To Know" titled "Outlawed In Arizona", highlighting a years-long dispute over a Mexican-American studies program in Tucson, Arizona.
Awards
2022 Overseas Press Club Award for best international investigation
2022 NYC Press Club Award for Best Financial Investigation
2022 National Headliner Award - Caffeine Jungle
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 - 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"
2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for "Aspirist"
2017 New York Press Club Documentary Award for "The Source"
2017 Society of American Business Writers and Editors Top Prize for "The Source" - Newsroom Category
2016 Eppy Award for Best Collaborative Investigative/Enterprise Reporting
2016 Emmy Award Recipient for Best Innovative Reporting
2016 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award 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
2013 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"
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