Lisa Ling

{{Infobox person

| name = Lisa Ling

| image = Lisa Ling at 2011 TCA.jpg

| caption = Ling in 2011

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|8|30}}

| birth_place = Sacramento, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = University of Southern California

| occupation = Journalist

| relatives = Laura Ling (sister)

| spouse = {{marriage|Paul Song|2007}}

| years_active = 1991–present

| children = 2

| credits = {{unbulleted list|The View (co-host, 1999–2002)|Planet in Peril (co-host, 2008)|National Geographic Explorer (host, 2003–10)|Our America (host, 2011–14)|This Is Life (host, 2014–22)}}

| website = {{URL|lisaling.com|Official website}}

}}

{{infobox Chinese

| c = 凌志慧

| p = Líng Zhìhuì

| w = Ling² Chih⁴-hui⁴

| y = Lìhng Jiwaih

| j = Ling4 Zi3-wai6

}}

Lisa J. Ling (born August 30, 1973) is an American journalist and television personality. She is a news contributor for CBS News. Previously, she was the host for This Is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN, a reporter on Channel One News, a co-host on the ABC daytime talk show The View (1999–2002), the host of National Geographic Explorer (2003–2010), and a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show. Ling later hosted Our America with Lisa Ling on the Oprah Winfrey Network from 2011 to 2014.

Early life

Ling was born in Sacramento, California.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=adchKOx6G7iY|title=Journalists arrive in U.S. following imprisonment|periodical=Bloomberg News|last=Taub|first=Daniel|date=2009-08-06|access-date=2009-08-07}} Her mother, Mary Mei-yan (née Wang), is a Taiwanese immigrant from Tainan, Taiwan, who served as the head of the Los Angeles office of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.{{Cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/04/03/2003440116|date=2009-04-03|access-date=2010-03-22|periodical=Taipei Times|title=Lawmaker urges ministry to help captive journalist|last=Hsu|first=Jenny W.}}{{Cite news|title=Journalist (Lisa) Ling shares her own story|first=Erin|last=Castaneda|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/apr/04/journalist_ling_shares_her_own_story/|periodical=Lawrence Journal-World|date=2008-04-04|access-date=2009-08-20}} Ling's father, Chung Teh "Douglas" Ling, is a Hong Konger immigrant, born in Hong Kong in 1937.Stated on Finding Your Roots, January 22, 2019 Her paternal grandmother was born on Labuan, now in modern-day Malaysia. Her paternal grandfather, who was from Guangzhou, Guangdong, was one of the first Chinese students allowed to study in the United States{{dubious|date=January 2020}} in the 1930s.{{when|date=January 2020}} He earned a degree from New York University and an M.B.A degree from University of Colorado. He struggled to find a job in the United States. He moved to California where he eventually opened the first Chinese restaurant in Folsom.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzeyhUS_Fm0 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/FzeyhUS_Fm0| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=Expo 2010: Chinese American Reporter Recounts Her Family's Journey in America | website=YouTube|date=March 9, 2010 |access-date=September 27, 2014 }}{{cbignore}}

Ling's parents divorced when she was seven years old.{{Cite news|title=Journalist (Lisa) Ling shares her own story| first= Erin| last= Castaneda| url= http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/apr/04/journalist_ling_shares_her_own_story/|periodical=Lawrence Journal-World| date= 2008-04-04| access-date= 2009-08-20}} Following the divorce, she and her sister Laura were raised by their father in Carmichael, near Sacramento. Ling admired reporter Connie Chung and aspired to become a journalist.{{cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb8mxWafaiw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/Gb8mxWafaiw| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=Expo 2010: Chinese American Reporter Recounts How She Started Her Career |via= YouTube |date=February 10, 2010 |access-date=September 27, 2014 }}{{cbignore}}

Ling was educated at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California, graduating in 1991.{{cite news| url= https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3080431| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071130012128/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3080431/ |archive-date=November 30, 2007 | title= Lisa Ling | website= MSNBC.com| date= January 17, 2006| url-status= live| access-date= January 22, 2018}} She studied at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.{{cite news| url= http://dailytrojan.com/2010/04/28/investigative-journalist-lisa-ling-coming-to-campus-on-wednesday/|title=Investigative journalist Lisa Ling coming to campus on Wednesday|work=Daily Trojan|access-date=3 November 2014|date=2010-04-28}}

Ling chose to leave USC before graduating, starting work as a reporter for Channel One News.{{cite web| url= http://dailytrojan.com/2016/03/29/journalist-lisa-ling-speaks-work-abroad/|title=Journalist Lisa Ling speaks about her work abroad|work=Daily Trojan|access-date=29 March 2016}} She is fluent in Spanish.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Career

=''The View'' (1999–2002)=

Ling started in television when she was chosen as one of the four hosts of Scratch, a nationally syndicated teen magazine show based in Sacramento. At 18, she joined Channel One News as one of their youngest reporters and anchors. Among her roles was war correspondent, including assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan. She won several awards for her reporting and documentaries.

She joined The View on August 2, 1999, after beating out a reported 12,000 hopefuls who had auditioned to replace Debbie Matenopoulos.{{cite news|title= Untitled| work= TV Guide| date= June 26, 1999| page= 5}} During her on-air audition for the show Ling got a navel piercing which Barbara Walters "thought was disgusting."{{cite web | title=Ling Sits Back And Enjoys 'The View' | website=Newsweek | date=1999-05-16 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/ling-sits-back-and-enjoys-view-167038 | access-date=2024-03-18}} Ling left the show after three and a half years towards the end of 2002 to go back to international reporting.{{cite web|url=https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/every-the-view-cohost-since-the-shows-1997-premiere/|title='The View' Cohosts Through the Years and Why They Left|magazine=Us Weekly|author=Hautman, Nicholas|date=July 1, 2021|accessdate=October 18, 2021|archivedate=March 25, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325204520/https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/every-the-view-cohost-since-the-shows-1997-premiere/}} She was responsible for proposing segments like investing for women, and, according to Ling, her goal was to say one thing each day that would make people think, whether it made them cheer or made them throw things at their TV. She drew both fire and praise for her comments after the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which she said, "What happened to the United States was a catastrophic event and the worst terrorist attack in human history. Yet maybe before we seek revenge, we should ask the question – why should anyone want to make such an attack on the U.S.?"{{cite web | title = Lisa Ling on The View and Network News | url = http://blogs.mediavillage.com/tv_maven/archives/2006/04/lisa_ling_on_th.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017091853/http://blogs.mediavillage.com/tv_maven/archives/2006/04/lisa_ling_on_th.html |archive-date = 2007-10-17}}

=''National Geographic'' and ''Oprah'' (2003–2010)=

Ling accepted an offer to host National Geographic Ultimate Explorer. In 2005, the show moved to the National Geographic Channel and returned to its original name, National Geographic Explorer. Ling has covered the drug war in Colombia, investigated the notorious MS-13 gang, and explored the culture of U.S. prisons. She also was allowed to travel into North Korea as part of a medical missionary group, where she and a film team were able to document a rare look into North Korea. The trip was documented in the 2007 National Geographic documentary "Inside North Korea".

She then became a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show which has featured many of Ling's investigative pieces, including a report on North Korea.{{cite news| url-status= dead| url= http://ngccommunity.nationalgeographic.com/ngcblogs/explorer/2007/02/inside-north-korea.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090305143517/http://ngccommunity.nationalgeographic.com/ngcblogs/explorer/2007/02/inside-north-korea.html |archive-date=March 5, 2009 | title= Inside North Korea| date= February 27, 2007 | access-date= January 22, 2018}}{{cite video | title=Inside North Korea | publisher=National Geographic | date=2006 | medium=DVD}} Ling's title is "Oprah Show Investigative Reporter." She also has reported on bride burning in India, gang rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, child trafficking in Ghana, under cover investigation of Pennsylvanian puppy mills with Main Line Animal Rescue, the immediate aftermath of the hurricane in New Orleans, and the April 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre.

=''Planet in Peril'' and ''Our America'' (2008–2014)=

In December 2008, CNN's award-winning documentary Planet in Peril featured Ling in the series' second installment, called "Battlelines". As a correspondent, she tracked excessive shark fishing in Costa Rica, elephant poaching in Chad, and explored the civil struggle within Nigeria for control over its oil. In 2010 Ling co-founded the website SecretSocietyOfWomen.com, a forum for women to share their problems anonymously.{{cite news|last1=Breied|first1=Erin|title=4th Annual Self Women Doing Good Awards|work=Self|issue=September 2011|publisher=Conde Nast}}

On February 16, 2011, her 2014 Emmy Award Winning show Our America with Lisa Ling premiered on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/own/Our-America-with-Lisa-Ling|title=OWN Sneak Peek: Our America with Lisa Ling|work=Oprah.com|access-date=3 November 2014}} It ran for five straight seasons.{{cite web|url=http://www.thewrap.com/own-our-america-lisa-ling-canceled/ |title=OWN Cancels 'Our America With Lisa Ling' |website=The Wrap |date=March 18, 2014 |first=Jethro |last=Nededog |access-date=September 27, 2014 }}

=''This Is Life'' (2014–2022)=

On April 14, 2014, CNN announced that Ling would host a documentary series titled, This is Life with Lisa Ling, in its primetime lineup.{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cnn-announces-primetime-lineup-new-695045 |title=CNN Announces Primetime Lineup, New Shows With Mike Rowe, Lisa Ling, John Walsh |date=April 10, 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=November 3, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/03/this-is-life-with-lisaling-a-new-cnnorigseries-premieres-sunday-sept-28-at-10p-etpt-on-cnn/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907164225/http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/03/this-is-life-with-lisaling-a-new-cnnorigseries-premieres-sunday-sept-28-at-10p-etpt-on-cnn/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2014 |title=This Is Life with Lisa Ling Comes To CNN |publisher=CNN |date=September 3, 2014 |access-date=September 27, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.thewrap.com/cnn-launching-lisa-ling-documentary-series-this-is-life/ |title=CNN Launching Lisa Ling Documentary Series 'This Is Life' |website=The Wrap |date=September 3, 2014 |first=Greg |last=Gilman |access-date=September 27, 2014 }} The show premiered on September 28, 2014.

In November 2022, the series was cancelled after then-CNN CEO Chris Licht discontinued CNN Original Series supplied by outside production companies.{{cite news |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-11-17/cnn-budget-cuts-this-is-life-with-lisa-ling-ending |title=CNN is ending 'This Is Life With Lisa Ling,' a casualty of budget cuts |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 17, 2022 |access-date=June 11, 2023 |url-access=limited}}

=HBO Max deal (2019–present)=

On October 22, 2019, it was announced that Ling had signed an overall deal with HBO's streaming service HBO Max. The first project that Ling will create with HBO Max is titled Birth, Wedding, Funeral.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/lisa-ling-hbo-max-overall-deal-birth-wedding-funeral-dan-rather/|title=CNN's Lisa Ling Lands HBO Max Overall Deal|last1=Maas|first1=Jennifer|website=TheWrap|date=October 22, 2019|accessdate=May 7, 2021}}

On April 22, 2021, it was announced that HBO Max had ordered Ling's six-part documentary series titled Take Out. The series will explore the world of America's Asian takeout restaurants and the lives of the people and families who keep them running.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-orders-lisa-ling-docuseries-take-out/|title=HBO Max Orders Lisa Ling Docuseries 'Take Out'|last1=Nakamura|first1=Reid|website=TheWrap|date=April 22, 2021|access-date=May 7, 2021}}

=CBS News (2023–present)=

On May 31, 2023, it was announced that Ling was hired as contributor for CBS News, reporting in-depth stories for its programs including CBS News Sunday Morning.{{cite news |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-31/after-nine-years-at-cnn-journalist-lisa-ling-lands-at-cbs-news |title=Journalist Lisa Ling lands at CBS News after 9 years at CNN |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 31, 2023 |access-date=June 11, 2023 |url-access=limited}}

Personal life

In 2004, Ling met businessman Philip Levine of Florida through mutual friends. They started dating and were engaged on February 18, 2005. In October of that year, she broke it off, telling People magazine the main reason was their busy schedules, especially the frequent global travel required by her job.{{Cite news|url=https://people.com/parents/lisa_ling_left_/|title=Lisa Ling left Levine|newspaper=People.com}}

On January 3, 2007, she announced her engagement to radiation oncologist Paul Song.{{cite magazine | url = https://people.com/celebrity/lisa-ling-engaged-to-chicago-oncologist/ | title = Lisa Ling Engaged to Chicago Oncologist|magazine=People|access-date=November 3, 2014}} They married on May 26, 2007, in Los Angeles, California. The wedding party included guests such as Connie Chung, one of Lisa's personal heroes, and actresses Kelly Hu and Diane Farr.{{cite web | url = https://people.com/celebrity/lisa-ling-marries-her-doctor-mcdreamy/ | title=Lisa Ling Marries Her 'Doctor McDreamy' | first1= Mary | last1= Margaret | first2= Cynthia | last2= Wang| work= People.com| access-date=November 3, 2014}}

On June 7, 2009, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from National University, and gave the commencement speech there.{{Cite web |title=Journalist Lisa Ling Addresses San Diego Graduates |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090825193140/http://www.nu.edu/Community/AlumniandFriends/AlumniServices/alumninewswirepage/GenNewswireSummer09III/Ling.html|archive-date=2009-08-25 |url=http://www.nu.edu/Community/AlumniandFriends/AlumniServices/alumninewswirepage/GenNewswireSummer09III/Ling.html |publisher=National University |access-date=2010-08-28 |url-status=dead}}

Ling gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Jett Ling Song, on March 8, 2013. She gave birth to a second child, a daughter named Ray Ling Song, on June 6, 2016.{{cite web |url=https://people.com/parents/lisa-ling-welcomes-daughter-ray/ |title=Lisa Ling Welcomes Second Daughter Ray |author= |date=6 June 2016 |website=People |publisher=Time |access-date=7 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610095937/http://celebritybabies.people.com/2016/06/06/lisa-ling-welcomes-second-child/ |archive-date=10 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news| url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lisa-ling-pregnant-former-view-co-host-baby-girl_n_2008930|title=Lisa Ling Pregnant: Former 'View' Co-Host Expecting Baby Girl|work=HuffPost| date=2012-10-24|access-date=November 3, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/03/08/lisa-ling-gives-birth-to-daughter-jett/1974443/|title=Lisa Ling gives birth to baby girl Jett| first= Olivia |last= Barker| date= 8 March 2013| work= USA Today| access-date= 3 November 2014}} The family resides in Santa Monica, California.{{cite web| url= http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-lisa-ling-photos-photogallery.html |title=Lisa Ling's new Santa Monica house |work= The Los Angeles Times |date=5 June 2013 |access-date=September 27, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://thechalkboardmag.com/lisa-ling-green-home |title= Home Green Home: Inside Lisa Ling's Eco-Chic Abode| work= The Chalkboard |date=March 4, 2013 |access-date=September 27, 2014 }}

Her younger sister, Laura Ling, also a journalist, was managing editor of Vanguard at Current TV and a host and reporter on E! Network. In March 2009 Laura and her colleague Euna Lee were detained by North Korea for illegal entry into the country. They had been attempting to film refugees along the border with China.{{cite news|url=https://people.com/celebrity/lisa-lings-sister-arrested-in-north-korea/| title= Lisa Ling's Sister Arrested in North Korea| work= People| first= Michael Y. |last= Park| date= 2009-03-23 | access-date=2009-03-23}} In June, they were sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison for illegal entry into North Korea, and unspecified hostile acts.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8088601.stm | title=North Korea jails US journalists. Eric Marchel ff | work= BBC News | date=2009-06-08 | access-date=2009-06-08}} North Korea released Laura and Euna on August 4, 2009, after a visit from former U.S. President Bill Clinton.{{cite news | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-41537120090804 | title = North Korea Pardons U.S. Journalists as Clinton meets Kim | first= Jack| last= Kim | work = Reuters | date = August 4, 2009 | access-date = November 3, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091015175059/http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20080930/NEWS-US-KOREA-NORTH/ | archive-date = October 15, 2009 }} Lisa and Laura Ling went on to collaborate on a book, Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home, published in May 2010.{{cite book| last1= Ling| first1= Laura| last2= Ling| first2= Lisa| title= Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home| date= May 2010| publisher= William Morrow| isbn= 978-0-06-200067-5| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/somewhereinsideo00ling}}

Lisa Ling identifies herself as a "die-hard feminist".{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/25/living/lisa-ling-sugar-baby-essay/ |title=The dangerous seduction of the rich boyfriend |publisher=CNN|date=September 26, 2014 |first=Lisa |last=Ling |access-date=September 27, 2014}}

At the age of 40, Ling was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2014/06/lisa-ling-reveals-surprise-diagnosis-of-add-at-age-40 |title=Lisa Ling Reveals Surprise Diagnosis of ADD at age 40 |work=ABC News |date=June 16, 2014 |access-date=November 3, 2014}}

Published works

{{cite book |first1=Laura |last1=Ling |first2=Lisa |last2=Ling |title=Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home |publisher=William Morrow |year=2010 |isbn=978-0062000675 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/somewhereinsideo00ling }}

References

External links

{{official website|http://www.lisaling.com/}}
{{IMDb name|id=0005149|name=Lisa Ling}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060603023109/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/speakers/profile_ling.html Lisa Ling bio] at National Geographic
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040214101841/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3080431/ Lisa Ling bio] at MSNBC