Janna and Pat Stueve are funding their second Fellow this year. They sponsored Binita Dahal of Nepal last year and she worked at KCPT PBS in Kansas City.
The Patrick and Janna Stueve Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., is proud to support a 2018 Fellow in the Alfred Friendly Press Partners program.
Juan Luis Garcia, a Mexico City reporter with SinEmbargo, has been selected for this prestigious fellowship that aims to lift up journalism around the world. Garcia will spend six months in the U.S., which will include training at the Missouri School of Journalism and working on the staff of two major newsrooms.
Garcia’s coverage has focused on crime and security, including the spread of drug cartels, local government agencies linked to crime organizations, and federal government corruption. He’s also written in-depth articles about fracking in Mexico and lobbying by big soda companies to stop tax measures. SinEmbargo is an online news outlet considered a standout in Mexico’s new generation of digital media startups. Garcia has distinguished himself by seeking explanations for the causes of violence beyond single criminal acts.
“I am interested in being able to explain complex issues without losing an understandable message for our readers,” Garcia wrote in his fellowship application. “There is no more proficient way to improve that than working side-by- side with colleagues.”
Garcia’s editor-in- chief, Antonio Hernandez, knows there are challenges to covering the corrupt intersection of business and politicians in a dangerous city: “It is well documented that some of the local and federal politicians are being financially supported by drug trafficking.”
Garcia will work during the first half of the fellowship at the Miami Herald and its Spanish language newspaper, El Nuevo Herald, and then during the second half at the Texas Tribune.
“We are proud to support Juan Luis Garcia in this important fellowship that we know will strengthen his professional skills,” says Pat Stueve. “Journalists in places like Mexico City face enormous obstacles and we are excited to see how his American colleagues will be able to share their perspectives. Likewise, we know newsrooms in the U.S. will benefit from his participation in their work this year.”
Stueve is a founder of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP, one of the largest firms in the Midwest specializing solely in litigation of complex commercial cases. He is treasurer of the Alfred Friendly Foundation Board and serves on the board of directors of the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo., and sits on its executive committee. Stueve also is an active member of Visitation Church where he is a sacristan.
Six other journalists from around the world will be joining Garcia in the Alfred Friendly program this year. The others are from countries such as Ukraine, Sudan, Jordan and India. Six other journalists from Macedonia who will join them for the initial training and participate in a shorter, nine-week training fellowship program.
This marks AFPP’s 34th year and 2018 is the 50th anniversary of Alfred Friendly being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Six-Day War for The Washington Post.
Friendly served as managing editor of The Post before returning to reporting. The fellowships carry on his legacy and desire for greater international understanding.
