lisa ling Lisa Ling: The Atlanta O You! Interview

“My job is not to judge them.”

Saturday morning we caught up with journalist Lisa Ling, former co-host of The View and now host of the one-hour documentary series, ‘Our America‘ on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network (Season 2 premieres tonight at 10 p.m.). Ling was in Atlanta for O: The Oprah Magazine’s O You! Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center…



Last season on ‘Our America’ you covered a lot of LGBT topics which we love. What do you have coming up this season?

I’m really excited about this season. We have an amazing show coming up about veterans and PTSD; the sexual trafficking of minors; the high number of African American men locked up in U.S. prison, but also amazing shows about the bond of twins; and extreme parenting.

Every single show will cover some challenging issues, but every single one will contain an element of hope.



Your first show is on amateur porn. Why do you think so many want to do it?

A lot of them are actually making money doing it. They feel, ‘we’re in the comforts of our own home, given this downtrodden economy, it could be a different means of a way to make money.’

But some people are doing it just because they’ve always been curious about it. My job is not to judge them, but it’s undeniable that this is a booming industry.



As the field correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and contributor to ABC News’ Nightline and National Geographic’s Explorer, Lisa Ling has reported from dozens of countries, covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, among other issues that are too often ignored. Lisa got her start in journalism as a correspondent for Channel One News where she covered the civil war in Afghanistan at 21 years of age. She later became a co-host of ABC Daytime’s hit show, The View, which won its first daytime Emmy during her time on the show. Lisa’s new series, ‘Our America with Lisa Ling’ premiered on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network in February 2011. The second season aired in Fall 2011.

- To learn more about Lisa Ling, visit LisaLing.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.


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