Journalist and Author Lisa Ling Joins UM-Flint's 2015 Critical Issues Forum

Journalist and author Lisa Ling is coming to campus. Ling will speak April 8 at the University of Michigan-Flint, as part of the ongoing 2015 Frances Willson Thompson Critical Issues Forum. Ling replaces author and commentator Frank Deford, who has cancelled all national appearances due to illness.

Ling is the host and executive producer of "This is Life" on CNN. Previously, she was host and executive producer of "Our America" on OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network, for five seasons.

Ling started her journalistic career as a correspondent for Channel One News, where she covered the civil war in Afghanistan as a 21-year-old. She has also been co-host of "The View" on ABC, a field correspondent for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and a contributor to ABC News's "Nightline" and National Geographic's "Explorer." Ling has reported in dozens of countries, covering stories like bride burning in India and gang rape in the Congo.

She and her sister Laura co-authored the book, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood and Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring her Home.

She is co-founder of www.secretsocietyofwomen.com.