April 7, 2009: Lisa Ling
Lisa Ling is the host of 鈥淣ational Geographic Explorer鈥� and former co-host of 鈥淭he
View.鈥�
Since joining Explorer as host in December 2002, Ling has covered the looting of antiquities
in war-torn Iraq, investigated the increasingly deadly drug war in Colombia, examined
the complex issues surrounding China's one-child policy and journeyed more than 1,600
feet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in a high-tech submersible in search of gold
treasure.
In the 2005 season of Explorer, Ling explored the phenomenon of female suicide bombers
in Chechnya and Israel's occupied territories and the hidden and dangerous culture
inside American prisons.
Prior to travelling the globe for Explorer, Ling was known for revealing her "view"
of the world to millions of Americans as co-host of Barbara Walters's hit daytime
talk show, "The View," where she shared no-holds-barred opinions on current events
and everyday issues.
Ling, who hosts 鈥淲ho Cares About Girls" on the Oxygen Network, has been working in
television for 15 years. At age 16, the Northern California native hosted "Scratch,"
a nationally syndicated teen magazine show. Ling moved on to become one of the youngest
reporters for Channel One News, a network seen in middle and high schools across the
country.
By the age of 25, Ling was Channel One's senior war correspondent, visiting violent
hotspots around the globe. In the field, she hunted down cocaine processing labs,
reported on refugee crises and shared tea with the Dalai Lama. All told, Ling reported
from more than two dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Algeria,
Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Japan, India and Iran.
Her position as a role model for today's youth is one she embraces. In 2001, she hosted
the television special, "Teen People's 20 Teens Who Will Change The World," and her
incredible footage shot following the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan helped provide
insight for "The Day it All Changed," a teen forum she lead for the WB Network.
Ling's hard work continues off-camera: She serves as a contributing editor for USA
Weekend and has produced eight documentaries for PBS, several of which won awards.
In April, 2001, she fulfilled her late-Uncle John's dream by running and completing
the Boston Marathon鈥攚ith a time of 4:34鈥攁nd raising money and awareness for pediatric
cancer and the "Ali & Dad's Army" foundation. She is also the co-author of the book
鈥淢other, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood.鈥�
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