Award-Winning Journalist Laura Ling Joins Discovery Digital Networks

Discovery Digital Networks announces today that award-winning journalist and producer Laura Ling has joined the web-native video arm of Discovery Communications as Director of Development. In this capacity, Ling will be a part of the senior team overseeing original program development for the portfolio of networks, which reaches audiences across digital platforms and currently generates 150M monthly streams.

“Laura is a phenomenal talent who brings an unparalleled level of curiosity and commitment to storytelling to her work, and now Discovery Digital Networks,” noted Tom Lofthouse, Senior Vice President of Programming for Discovery Digital Networks, to whom Ling reports. “Discovery Digital Networks continues to extend and deepen its relationship with passionate online audiences, and we look forward to exploring new topics and worlds with Laura as the guide.”

“Throughout my career, I have sought out the stories that haven’t been told and the people the world hasn’t met, and I am excited to join the Discovery Digital Networks team to help bring more of these stories to light online,” added Ling.

Most recently, Ling was host and reporter for E! Investigates and Society X with Laura Ling, documentary series airing on the E! Network in which she tackled topics including teen suicide, the challenges faced by military spouses and underground youth subcultures in America. Prior to joining E!, she served as Vice President of Current TV’s journalism department and creating the award-winning Vanguard, the network’s weekly investigative documentary series for which she also acted as a correspondent traveling the world to report on a wide-range of subjects such as slave labor in the Amazon and Internet censorship in China. 

In 2010, Ling penned Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home with her sister, Lisa – documenting her arrest and captivity in North Korea while on assignment along the Chinese border reporting on the trafficking of North Korean women.

Earlier in her career, Ling was a correspondent for KCET’s SoCal Connected, served as a producer for Channel One News and co-created Breaking it Down, a documentary series on MTV that aired between 1999 and 2001. Ling has won numerous awards, including an Emmy and a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and was named one of Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year in 2009.

About Discovery Digital Networks

Discovery Digital Networks’ portfolio of original online video networks cover topics from animals and pop culture to science and technology with year-round content anchored by the best personalities on the web. With a robust lineup of networks, including Revision3, TestTube, Animalist, SourceFed and The DeFranco Network, Discovery Digital Networks delivers more than 110 web-native series enjoyed by loyal, passionate fans. Discovery Digital Networks is a part of Discovery Communications, the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer, dedicated to satisfying curiosity across platforms. For more information, please visit DiscoveryDigitalNetworks.com.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content on worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery also controls Eurosport International, a premier sports entertainment group, including six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.