In what may be the weirdest celebrity news of 2013, former NBA star Dennis Rodman has forged some kind of relationship with Kim Jong Un, the young leader of North Korea. Rodman visited there back in March and came home hoping to broker peace between the country and the U.S.
Now he's calling on Kim to release Kenneth Bae, a U.S. man arrested in North Korea back in November 2012. He was sentenced for "hostile acts" against the state, though those acts were not detailed, and sentenced to 15 years hard labor. It was reported at the time of Bae's detainment that he was involved with a Protestant religious movement.
Rodman tweets, "I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him "Kim", to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose."
Rodman adds that he was responding to the Seattle Times article that dares him...
Now he's calling on Kim to release Kenneth Bae, a U.S. man arrested in North Korea back in November 2012. He was sentenced for "hostile acts" against the state, though those acts were not detailed, and sentenced to 15 years hard labor. It was reported at the time of Bae's detainment that he was involved with a Protestant religious movement.
Rodman tweets, "I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him "Kim", to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose."
Rodman adds that he was responding to the Seattle Times article that dares him...
- 5/8/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Lisa Ling is pregnant! And she's expecting a baby girl.
People magazine reports that the TV journalist -- a former co-host on "The View" and currently host of a documentary series on Own -- announced the news on fellow journalist Anderson Cooper's talk show.
In 2010, Ling suffered a miscarriage after seven weeks. "I felt more like a failure than I'd felt in a very long time," Ling told "The View" at the time.
"I don't know that I took it as seriously as I should have because it happened so fast. But then when I heard the doctor say there was no heartbeat it was like bam, like a knife through the heart."
The baby girl will be the first child of Ling, 39, and her husband of five years, Paul Song. In March 2009, Ling's younger sister Laura Ling made news when she and journalist Euna Lee were detained in...
People magazine reports that the TV journalist -- a former co-host on "The View" and currently host of a documentary series on Own -- announced the news on fellow journalist Anderson Cooper's talk show.
In 2010, Ling suffered a miscarriage after seven weeks. "I felt more like a failure than I'd felt in a very long time," Ling told "The View" at the time.
"I don't know that I took it as seriously as I should have because it happened so fast. But then when I heard the doctor say there was no heartbeat it was like bam, like a knife through the heart."
The baby girl will be the first child of Ling, 39, and her husband of five years, Paul Song. In March 2009, Ling's younger sister Laura Ling made news when she and journalist Euna Lee were detained in...
- 10/24/2012
- by Youyoung Lee
- Huffington Post
On the December 20th edition of .The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur. on Current TV, former Vanguard correspondent Laura Ling and producer Euna Lee, who were arrested and held for five months in North Korea in 2009 (they were released following a diplomatic trip to the country by former President Bill Clinton), joined host Cenk Uygur to talk about that country.s future and transfer of power. Ling says, "The question is, will there be a North Korean Spring or something similar? The average North Korean doesn't have access to Twitter, doesn't know what Facebook is. But the border with China is quite porous. People are smuggled out of the country, and information does get smuggled into the country.
- 12/21/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Photo by Jaime Cary/Own: Oprah Winfrey Network
We really dig Lisa Ling. Of our generation of journalists she seems like the one we’d feel most comfortable sitting down and having a cup of coffee with. And still, she’s one of the best at what she does. We believe it’s because she’s willing to leave that cold, detached reporters veneer at the door and show her vulnerability to the people she interviews. We were lucky enough to have an exclusive interview with Lisa this week. Here’s what she had to say about Oprah, American Idol and her show Our America.
As the first season of Ling’s new show on Own, she’s already covered some pretty intense topics including transgenders, faith healing, mail order brides and people who believe you can “Pray the Gay Away.” And for those of you like us who, thanks to Lisa,...
We really dig Lisa Ling. Of our generation of journalists she seems like the one we’d feel most comfortable sitting down and having a cup of coffee with. And still, she’s one of the best at what she does. We believe it’s because she’s willing to leave that cold, detached reporters veneer at the door and show her vulnerability to the people she interviews. We were lucky enough to have an exclusive interview with Lisa this week. Here’s what she had to say about Oprah, American Idol and her show Our America.
As the first season of Ling’s new show on Own, she’s already covered some pretty intense topics including transgenders, faith healing, mail order brides and people who believe you can “Pray the Gay Away.” And for those of you like us who, thanks to Lisa,...
- 3/30/2011
- by Pop Culture Passionistas
- popculturepassionistas
After speculation about Keith Olbermann's new television gig, the news is now official via Olberman's Twitter account: "Greetings from Keith Olbermann, Chief News Officer of Current Media! And awayyyyyy we go! #Fok."
Olbermann's "Countdown" contract was terminated by MSNBC three weeks ago and rumors have been flying about where the famously left-wing commentator would end up. We aren't sure exactly what Chief News Office entails and we wonder if there is an on-air component to it.
Current TV, a media company owned largely by former Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt, is available in about 60 million homes and, as it is not primarily owned by a media corporation but instead private investors, should afford Olbermann more leeway to espouse any views he sees fit on the air.
Before now, the biggest story surrounding Current TV was the 2009 five-month imprisonment of its journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling in North Korea.
Olbermann's "Countdown" contract was terminated by MSNBC three weeks ago and rumors have been flying about where the famously left-wing commentator would end up. We aren't sure exactly what Chief News Office entails and we wonder if there is an on-air component to it.
Current TV, a media company owned largely by former Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt, is available in about 60 million homes and, as it is not primarily owned by a media corporation but instead private investors, should afford Olbermann more leeway to espouse any views he sees fit on the air.
Before now, the biggest story surrounding Current TV was the 2009 five-month imprisonment of its journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling in North Korea.
- 2/8/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Keith Olbermann, who recently left his "Countdown" show on MSNBC, will reportedly announce his next gig on Tuesday (Feb. 8). The New York Times is reporting he is headed to the public affairs channel Current TV.
Current TV is a media company that went on the air in August 2005. It counts former Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt as its leaders and 10% of the company is owned by Comcast. A source tells the Nyt that Olbermann would have an equity stake in the station. There is no word yet on what exactly his new program will be.
As Current TV is mostly owned by private individuals, it would afford Olbermann more leeway in espousing whatever views he sees fit. On the other hand, it's only available in about 60 million homes, as opposed to MSNBC's 85 million.
Current TV's biggest headlines to date have been the 2009 imprisonment of journalists Euna Lee...
Current TV is a media company that went on the air in August 2005. It counts former Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt as its leaders and 10% of the company is owned by Comcast. A source tells the Nyt that Olbermann would have an equity stake in the station. There is no word yet on what exactly his new program will be.
As Current TV is mostly owned by private individuals, it would afford Olbermann more leeway in espousing whatever views he sees fit. On the other hand, it's only available in about 60 million homes, as opposed to MSNBC's 85 million.
Current TV's biggest headlines to date have been the 2009 imprisonment of journalists Euna Lee...
- 2/8/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Arrested and held in captivity in North Korea for 140 days in 2009 -- along with Euna Lee, a colleague from the Al Gore-run Current TV -- Laura Ling becomes the host and principal correspondent of E! Entertainment Television's documentary series "E! Investigates" with a probe of teen suicides Wednesday, Dec. 8.
"I do feel like some of the people we interview can relate to me a little bit more," Ling tells Zap2it after having gathered material in Miami and Cincinnati recently. "With some of these stories, teen suicide in particular, people have gone through their own tragedies. I don't want to say I didn't have an appreciation of life before, but I think I have a greater one now. I just value every second I have."
Pardoned almost five months after she was detained on the allegation of illegally entering North Korea from China, Ling was brought back to the United...
"I do feel like some of the people we interview can relate to me a little bit more," Ling tells Zap2it after having gathered material in Miami and Cincinnati recently. "With some of these stories, teen suicide in particular, people have gone through their own tragedies. I don't want to say I didn't have an appreciation of life before, but I think I have a greater one now. I just value every second I have."
Pardoned almost five months after she was detained on the allegation of illegally entering North Korea from China, Ling was brought back to the United...
- 10/25/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
"The Insider" is on the ground in Rhinebeck, New York -- where Chelsea Clinton is expected to get married Saturday evening -- and we've got the 411 on famous faces spotted out around town! Big names sighted on Saturday so far include Ted Danson and wife Mary Steenburgen, wedding dress designer Vera Wang, and longtime Clinton political allies including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and former Bill Clinton advisor Vernon Jordan. Also spotted was movie producer Steve Bing, who lent his private plane to the former president when Clinton flew to North Korea to help bring home Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists who'd been imprisoned in the Asian country. Keep checking back here for the latest from Rhinebeck as we remain on wedding watch!
[Read full story on The Insider]...
[Read full story on The Insider]...
- 7/31/2010
- by TheInsider
- TheInsider.com
Laura Ling experienced two life-altering thrills within a year's time: seeing former President Bill Clinton's August arrival in North Korea to the secure her and Current TV colleague Euna Lee's freedom after five months in government captivity - and learning she was pregnant with her and husband Iain Clayton's first child. Now she can add a third. At 7:36 p.m. Pt on Wednesday, Ling, 33, and financial analyst Clayton, 43, welcomed daughter Li Jefferson Clayton at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, Calif. She weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz. Related: Laura Ling Celebrating Freedom (and Her Sister) with 'Miracle' Baby"Her parents are too speechless,...
- 6/3/2010
- by Cynthia Wang
- PEOPLE.com
Sitting in a prison cell in North Korea last summer sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, Laura Ling was coming to terms with the idea that she might never have kids. Back home a year later, she's about to have a daughter - and will name her after her sister, Lisa Ling - the former host of The View - who worked tirelessly to get Laura released. "It wasn't exactly planned," Laura, 33, tells People of the pregnancy, "but you get separated from your husband for five months, not knowing if you will ever see him again and certain things happen!
- 5/20/2010
- by Cynthia Wang and Tim Nudd
- PEOPLE.com
For Lisa Ling, the 25th anniversary of National Geographic Channel's "Explorer" series is a time for celebration and ... reflection.
In the special two-hour retrospective "Explorer: 25 Years" airing Monday, April 19 at 9 p.m. Et/Pt, we're reminded that the host and correspondent had gone undercover traveling with a Nepalese eye surgeon for the "Inside North Korea" show in 2007.
In the secret footage, Ling comments that Americans are not welcome in the country and that the North Koreans' devotion to their "dear leader" Kim Jong-Il appears simultaneously fervent and fearful.
Two years later, Ling's sister Laura Ling and fellow journalist Euna Lee were detained in North Korea after they filmed refugees along the Chinese border. Although they were sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison, they were eventually pardoned and released in August following a visit to the country by former President Bill Clinton.
It's not lost on Lisa Ling that...
In the special two-hour retrospective "Explorer: 25 Years" airing Monday, April 19 at 9 p.m. Et/Pt, we're reminded that the host and correspondent had gone undercover traveling with a Nepalese eye surgeon for the "Inside North Korea" show in 2007.
In the secret footage, Ling comments that Americans are not welcome in the country and that the North Koreans' devotion to their "dear leader" Kim Jong-Il appears simultaneously fervent and fearful.
Two years later, Ling's sister Laura Ling and fellow journalist Euna Lee were detained in North Korea after they filmed refugees along the Chinese border. Although they were sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison, they were eventually pardoned and released in August following a visit to the country by former President Bill Clinton.
It's not lost on Lisa Ling that...
- 4/19/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
NY Post: Oprah Winfrey's new cable network will be lean heavily on "Oprah" regulars, if today's programming announcement is any indication.
Own, which kicks off in early 2010--replacing Discovery Health Channel--has finally released some info on its upcoming programming slate.
The shows are grouped under three banners: "Best Life All Stars," "Best Life Experiences" and "Best Life Inspiration."
Here's some info on the shows announced today:
"Best Life All Stars":
--"The Peter Walsh Project," which will feature "de-clutter expert" Peter Walsh, a frequent "Oprah" guest, who'll be joined by a team of experts in helping people tackle their clutter issues.
--"Dr. Laura Berman," features the sex therapist/relationship expert in a one-hour talk show based in Chicago. She's also been seen on "Oprah." "Best Life Experiences":
--"Excellent Adventure" will track a celebrity and their best friend "as they embark on the adventure they have always dreamt of taking together.
Own, which kicks off in early 2010--replacing Discovery Health Channel--has finally released some info on its upcoming programming slate.
The shows are grouped under three banners: "Best Life All Stars," "Best Life Experiences" and "Best Life Inspiration."
Here's some info on the shows announced today:
"Best Life All Stars":
--"The Peter Walsh Project," which will feature "de-clutter expert" Peter Walsh, a frequent "Oprah" guest, who'll be joined by a team of experts in helping people tackle their clutter issues.
--"Dr. Laura Berman," features the sex therapist/relationship expert in a one-hour talk show based in Chicago. She's also been seen on "Oprah." "Best Life Experiences":
--"Excellent Adventure" will track a celebrity and their best friend "as they embark on the adventure they have always dreamt of taking together.
- 4/8/2010
- Momlogic
"Anvil! The Story of Anvil," the account of an obscure Canadian heavy metal band, will square off against four more seriously themed documentaries at the 2009 Ida Awards.
The other contenders in the feature category, announced Thursday by the International Documentary Assn., are "Afghan Star," about finalists in an Afghanistan version of "American Idol"; "Diary of a Times Square Thief," about the search for a mysterious diary; "Food, Inc.," which examines the U.S. food industry; and "Mugabe and the White African," the story of a fifth-generation white African farmer.
Eligible films had to be completed, released or broadcast by July 30, so a number of docs, released in the second half of the year such as Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" did not qualify for consideration.
The winners will be saluted Dec. 4 at the DGA in Los Angeles at a ceremony hosted by "This American Life's" Ira Glass.
The other contenders in the feature category, announced Thursday by the International Documentary Assn., are "Afghan Star," about finalists in an Afghanistan version of "American Idol"; "Diary of a Times Square Thief," about the search for a mysterious diary; "Food, Inc.," which examines the U.S. food industry; and "Mugabe and the White African," the story of a fifth-generation white African farmer.
Eligible films had to be completed, released or broadcast by July 30, so a number of docs, released in the second half of the year such as Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" did not qualify for consideration.
The winners will be saluted Dec. 4 at the DGA in Los Angeles at a ceremony hosted by "This American Life's" Ira Glass.
- 11/12/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Current TV, the cable channel founded by former Vice President Al Gore, laid off about 20 percent of its work force Wednesday. Media Week reports that these restructuring layoffs hit 80 people in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and London offices, right before the Holidays. Current released a statement saying the reorganization "was not the result of a need to cut costs." Shows such as "Current Tonight," "Current Takeover" and "Current Exposed" have been canceled. The network is shifting toward a more traditional content strategy, with plans to run traditional half-hour and hour shows - "mostly acquisitions." Current's two reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested and imprisoned by the North Korean military after crossing...
- 11/12/2009
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Current TV, the cable channel founded by former Vice President Al Gore, has begun overhauling its programming model, a process that began Wednesday with the elimination of 80 full-time staff positions.
Originally positioned as a showcase for short-form, user-generated content, Current is shifting toward a more traditional content strategy, with plans to run 30- and 60-minute programs, many of which will be acquisitions.
While Current will continue to generate some in-house content, most of the cuts were made at the channel's Los Angeles-based production and programming facilities. Pink slips were also handed out in Current's New York, San Francisco and London offices.
Per recent estimates, user-generated content accounts for some 30% of Current's programming. "We are as keen as ever on participatory media," said chief operating officer Joanna Drake Earl, adding that the channel is likely to program more themed compilation shows rather than run blocks of standalone viewer submissions.
The move...
Originally positioned as a showcase for short-form, user-generated content, Current is shifting toward a more traditional content strategy, with plans to run 30- and 60-minute programs, many of which will be acquisitions.
While Current will continue to generate some in-house content, most of the cuts were made at the channel's Los Angeles-based production and programming facilities. Pink slips were also handed out in Current's New York, San Francisco and London offices.
Per recent estimates, user-generated content accounts for some 30% of Current's programming. "We are as keen as ever on participatory media," said chief operating officer Joanna Drake Earl, adding that the channel is likely to program more themed compilation shows rather than run blocks of standalone viewer submissions.
The move...
- 11/11/2009
- by By Anthony Crupi, Mediaweek
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lisa Ling is returning to "The View." The former co-host will return to the ABC talk show as a guest co-host for two days while Elisabeth Hasselbeck is on maternity leave.
The journalist will be on the show on October 5 and 6, filling in the seat of Hasselbeck while she is out on maternity leave until mid-October.
Just this summer, she went through a scary ordeal when her sister Laura Ling and another journalist Euna Lee were imprisoned in North Korea. They were finally released on August 5.
Ling was part of "The View" family for three years before she left in 2002. Hasselbeck filled in her vacated spot. She is currently a correspondent for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and CNN.
The journalist will be on the show on October 5 and 6, filling in the seat of Hasselbeck while she is out on maternity leave until mid-October.
Just this summer, she went through a scary ordeal when her sister Laura Ling and another journalist Euna Lee were imprisoned in North Korea. They were finally released on August 5.
Ling was part of "The View" family for three years before she left in 2002. Hasselbeck filled in her vacated spot. She is currently a correspondent for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and CNN.
- 9/18/2009
- icelebz.com
Meet the new female faces on SNL! Steal ideas from this season of Design Star Know your Labor Day food factoids? The top 10 fragrances you loved (or hated) in junior high Say what? Laura Ling and Euna Lee Break their silence Elmo to face consequences of economic downturn Sneak peek! J.Crew Fall '09 accessories Are you able to grow with your current employer? Tennis 101: how to score The scoop: all dog coat types come from just three genes Facebook for the BlackBerry gets some new features...
- 9/3/2009
- by PopSugar
- Popsugar.com
Freed journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have broken their silence about their 140 days in captivity in North Korea.
On the morning of March 17, Ling and Lee crossed the border of China into North Korea for less than a minute, which turned their next five months into a living hell. A month after former president Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea and secured their release, the women have decided to share their story, under a joint byline in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. Read on to see what they wrote...
Read More >...
On the morning of March 17, Ling and Lee crossed the border of China into North Korea for less than a minute, which turned their next five months into a living hell. A month after former president Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea and secured their release, the women have decided to share their story, under a joint byline in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. Read on to see what they wrote...
Read More >...
- 9/2/2009
- by Natalie Abrams
- TVGuide - Breaking News
In all, they were only knowingly on the North Korean side of the border with China for a single minute, but it was enough for their lives to change forever. "We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us," Laura Ling and Euna Lee write in a dramatic account of their capture by North Korean border guards published in the Los Angeles Times. "We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers. They violently dragged us back across the...
- 9/2/2009
- by Michael Y. Park
- PEOPLE.com
Since being returned home by the valiant efforts of former President Bill Clinton last month, Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee write a detailed account of the events leading up to their imprisonment. The women were led across the North Korean border by a trusted tour guide in the early morning hours of March 17 of this year. Realizing the danger they were putting themselves in, they returned to the Chinese side of the border quickly. It was already too late, as North Korean soldiers were running toward them with rifles drawn. Ling and Lee say, "We were firmly back in China when the soldiers apprehended us." Imprisoned for 140 days, the two young journalists were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. Following a meeting with Clinton, the North Korean government agreed to nullify this sentence and pardoned the women. In retrospect, Ling and Lee question their judgment in trusting this tour guide.
- 9/2/2009
- by TheInsider
- TheInsider.com
We're going to leave the international diplomacy to people like former President Bill Clinton. However, David Beckham sure has a way of making political discourse a bit more, well, sexy. The soccer stud met journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee after the Galaxy's win over Chivas USA this weekend at L.A.'s Home Depot Center. I'm told Lee and her family are Chivas fans, but no biggie. They gladly accepted Becks' gift—the shirt he wore during the game. Speaking of a shirtless Mr. Beckham, take a peek at his beauitful bod after the jump.
- 9/1/2009
- E! Online
Ashton Kutcher has demanded American politicians race to free two U.S. journalists convicted for illegally entering North Korea, insisting Monday's shock news of their imprisonment is "a national crisis".
The actor is among those outraged by reports Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
The two Current TV reporters were found guilty of committing "a grave crime" against North Korea, and Kutcher took to his Twitter.com blog to appeal for help on the two journalists' behalf.
He writes, "This should be a national crisis... We have to demand that something be done."
Kutcher went so far as to suggest the U.S. military should get involved, adding, "I say it’s special ops time… If we can save that Captain (Capt. Richard Phillips) from (Somalian) pirates, we can save these journalist (sic)."
Ling and Lee were reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women when they were arrested near the China-North Korea border on 17 March.
The actor is among those outraged by reports Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
The two Current TV reporters were found guilty of committing "a grave crime" against North Korea, and Kutcher took to his Twitter.com blog to appeal for help on the two journalists' behalf.
He writes, "This should be a national crisis... We have to demand that something be done."
Kutcher went so far as to suggest the U.S. military should get involved, adding, "I say it’s special ops time… If we can save that Captain (Capt. Richard Phillips) from (Somalian) pirates, we can save these journalist (sic)."
Ling and Lee were reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women when they were arrested near the China-North Korea border on 17 March.
- 6/9/2009
- WENN
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