OWN’s Lisa Ling is entering her fourth and final season of Our America with Lisa Ling before she leaves Oprah for a new program on CNN this fall (photo by Greg Hernandez).
She recently talked with CAAM, the Center for Asian American Media, about the major influences in her life and about the obstacles she faced as Asian American.
“As an aspiring journalist, I didn’t know another woman of my generation who is Asian American who didn’t aspire to be Connie Chung one day,” said Ling. “Connie really paved the way, not just for Asian journalists, but women, in so many ways. And I will always regard her so highly and be appreciative of the challenges she faced.”
She remembers fondly the congratulatory card she received from Connie when she began her stint on the ABC gabfest, The View. The card stayed pinned on her bulletin board for her entire time at the show. She described Barbara Walters as “very nurturing with me and the other women. We always felt like she was the wiser, older sister to all of us.”
Oprah remains someone she is in awe with. “Whenever I’d be on her show, I’d see her sitting there and would have to pinch myself because it was so surreal.”
She recalls once being named “hot reporter” at age 19 by Rolling Stone.
“While I was at Channel One, someone cut that photo of me out of the magazine and drew slanted eyes on it and put it in my mailbox,” said Ling. “And it was one of the most horrifying experiences that I’ve ever had because I walked out of that mail room and everyone looked guilty to me. And it was so hurtful because up until then, these people were my family. I was traveling to war zones with some of these people, and spending more time in my office than I would spend anywhere else.”
