Lisa Ling Signs With CAA Across Film, TV and Publishing

Journalist, producer and author Lisa Ling has signed with CAA, the agency will represent her across a range of fields, according to an announcement that caps a career spanning Channel One, ABC, CNN and CBS News.

Ling most recently worked as a contributor at CBS News. She is best known as the host of documentary-journalism programs including National Geographic's "Explorer" and CNN's "This Is Life." She also served as one of the co-hosts of ABC's daytime show "The View," and hosted and executive-produced "Our America" for the Oprah Winfrey Network, now part of Skydance.

How did Ling build her career?

She started young. As a teenager, Ling worked for "Scratch," a nationally syndicated television program aimed at teens. She then joined Channel One, a video-news report aimed at schoolchildren, where she traveled abroad and covered war outbreaks in different parts of the world.

She previously held a production deal with HBO. That arrangement resulted in series such as "Take Out," an exploration of the world of Asian-American cuisine.

Her books include "Mother, Sister, Daughter, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood" and "Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and Other's Fights to Bring Her Home." The latter chronicles the ordeal of her sister, Laura, who was detained in North Korea after attempting to film refugees along the country's border with China.

What does the CAA deal mean beyond broadcasting?

Ling's profile now extends well past the newsroom. She is the founder of MightyLings, a digital platform that promotes intergenerational strength, wellness and spirit building. She serves on the boards of the prison reentry organization CROP, the California Partners Project, The Asian American Foundation and the Kids Mental Health Foundation.

The CAA signing positions Ling for work across television, publishing, producing and speaking — the kind of multi-front representation agencies increasingly build around journalists with established personal brands. For a correspondent who began on a teen syndication and ended up on "The View," the deal signals that her next chapter will likely be as much entrepreneurial as editorial.