University Union presents globe trekking journalist Lisa Ling April 17

University Union presents globe trekking journalist Lisa Ling April 17April 04, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

The University Union Speakers Board at Syracuse University, in association with the WellsLink Program, will present Lisa Ling, host of National Geographic Channel’s award-winning documentary series “Explorer,” April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center. Ling will speak on “Women’s Issues From the Perspective of a Globe Trekking Journalist.”

Tickets–$5 for the general public and $3 for students with SU I.D.–are available at the Schine Box Office (443-4517). Paid parking is available in the Comstock and Waverly lots. No recording devices will be allowed.

Since joining “Explorer” in 2002, Ling has covered the looting of antiquities in war-torn Iraq, investigated the deadly drug war in Colombia, examined complex issues surrounding China’s one-child policy, and journeyed more than 1,600 feet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in search of gold treasure. As the first female host since the series’ premiere two decades ago, Ling immerses herself in the stories she investigates, sometimes going undercover and into danger zones. Ling also serves as a special contributor for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” building on her sense of adventure.

Ling is perhaps best known for revealing her view of the world to millions of Americans as one of the co-hosts of the hit ABC daytime talk show “The View,” where she shared no-holds-barred opinions on current events and everyday issues.

Ling has been in television for 15 years. At age 16, she hosted “Scratch,” a nationally syndicated teen magazine show and later became one of the youngest reporters for Channel One News, a network seen in middle and high schools across the country. By age 25, Ling was the network’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. She 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 following the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan helped provide insight for “The Day It All Changed,” a teen forum she led for the WB. She has also hosted the Golden Globes pre-show for NBC for the past two years.

Ling’s hard work continues off camera. She is a contributing editor for USA Weekend and has produced eight documentaries for PBS. In April 2001, she fulfilled her late Uncle John’s dream by running and completing the Boston Marathon–with a time of 4:34–and raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer and the “Ali & Dad’s Army” foundation.

For more information on the lecture, contact UU Speakers Board Co-Director Clarence Cross III at 443-2724 or clcrossi@syr.edu.