An Emmy Award-winning journalist and CBS News contributor, Lisa Ling has graced television screens for most of her life. One of her first gigs as a teen was on a program called Channel One News, where she co-hosted alongside fellow industry up-and-comer Anderson Cooper. But it was Ling’s three-year stint that followed as a co-host on the then-two-year-old morning show, The View, in 1999, that created a shift. Her name became household and her career propelled into a new territory. Still, exchanging hot topics on a roundtable is not exactly what marks Ling’s legacy in journalism—it’s been her persistent search for truth and a deeper understanding of the stories that shape our country and culture.

“I have always had such an insatiable curiosity,” Ling says. Of course, for those who’ve followed any of her acclaimed shows, such as This is Life with Lisa Ling or Our America with Lisa Ling, this quality is at the heart of her reporting. And with stints at National Geographic, CNN, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, Ling’s curiosity has taken her across the country and globe to explore topics that exist beyond the mainstream, from mental health and addiction to gun violence and spirituality, to name a few. The throughline? The ever-present empathy that’s signature to Ling, her ability to earn the trust of the people and communities she reports on, all while tapping into our collective humanity. 

I grew up in a very non-diverse community outside of Sacramento, California. My parents divorced when I was young, and the television was always on in my home—it was like a babysitter. I had these aspirations of working in television because I wanted to have a better life—we didn't have a lot of money or resources. But no one on television looked remotely like me, except for Connie Chung, who, at the time, embodied everything that was strong, bold, smart, and beautiful. She really defied all of the stereotypes that I had experienced or seen of Asian women and turned all of those notions on their head. And so I set out to pursue a career like Connie's. 

I was hired to work as a reporter for a show called Channel One News around 18 or 19 years old, which was watched across the country. Anderson Cooper was one of my colleagues. And that show sent me out into the world to cover stories. I wasn't someone who had the resources to travel. And so, in my late teens, I was covering stories about the referendum elections in the former Soviet Union, about the democracy movements in China and Iran, and in my early 20s, about the Civil War in Afghanistan. It was that experience that propelled me to want not only to be on TV, but also to communicate the things I was seeing to a broader audience. Those experiences propelled me onto the path that I have been traveling ever since. 

When you look at the work I'm doing now, while I'm not traveling overseas as much, the style remains similar to the one that I employed as a very young person. It's very conversational and informal. I've never written down a lot of questions because I've tried just to have conversations with people. And I think that has really gotten lost as we all communicate more on our devices than we do person-to-person, human-to-human. The opportunity to watch and share these kinds of stories about our fellow humans is more important than ever.

I was so young when I got the job at The View—I was only 26. It was a really fun job, and I learned a lot from my fellow co-hosts like Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Joy Behar, and Star Jones. I became a better speaker in front of a live audience, because that's what that show is really good at: generating a reaction from the audience. But what I discovered is that I feel the most fulfilled, not when I'm hearing myself talk, but when I am engaging with people about what's happening in their lives or about the stories they want to tell. I found—and I still feel like—I am a better teller of stories about other people than I am a teller of stories about myself.

On The View, I had a couple of strikes against me. I had been working as a journalist, and journalists are not supposed to be so vocal about our opinions. And I am Asian American. Culturally speaking, interrupting one's elders, speaking up, and interjecting in conversations were not something that I was ever encouraged to do. So those three years were a great learning experience because I learned how to interject. I learned how to be pretty unapologetic about speaking up. I still am sometimes hesitant about expressing overt opinions because of what I do, but I learned a lot from that experience. It just taught me, or confirmed, that I prefer telling other people's stories.

When I was a young reporter, I was probably assigned more stories than I was pitching. There were very few assignments that I turned down. I jumped at any opportunity to go anywhere outside my comfort zone and report on stories that not only I was unfamiliar with, but I assumed most people were unfamiliar with as well. 

After I did The View, I went to the National Geographic Channel and became the youngest female host of their Explorer series. And that was when I started pitching ideas. Since then, over the last 20 years, I've been so fortunate to produce probably the majority of the things that I've worked on and pitched. Even the stories I’m doing now—I was just with a rabbi who believes that the whole Torah was a psychedelic experience, and then I was with Muslim community leaders who are helping men who converted to Islam in prison acclimate to life outside of prison—I'm just like, wow. I feel so blessed that I'm still able to share these really substantive human stories on a national platform for a network news outlet.

I've been told ‘no’ so many times because I consider myself a voracious pitcher of stories. It's always hard when you get rejected because you just know what an incredible story it could be. Unfortunately, I think it will become harder in the immediate future to tell the kinds of stories that so many of us want to share because there is backlash against diverse storytelling. I believe that the reason why our country is in this fractured state is that, when growing up, my generation was never exposed to diverse storytelling. Our history was whitewashed. Our media was whitewashed. And, as a result, when people started to speak out and share a diverse array of stories, there was a lack of empathy. Unfortunately, the backlash will take us back in time.

I've tried to be intentional [in how I dress] because I am sharing the stories of other people. I never want viewers to think about what I'm wearing. And so, when you watch my segments or shows, very often I'm wearing similar versions of cargo pants and T-shirts. Gap was dressing me for many, many years—I wanted to wear an American brand that was accessible and affordable. And on The View, we had access to all the designers, but I never want people to be distracted by what I'm wearing or how I look. I like to think I wear what most people do, casually, day-to-day. Having said that, I love to dress up and I appreciate the art of fashion.

The reason I believe I'm a fairly decent journalist is that there is no story that’s more important to me than the one I'm currently working on. After 30-some years of doing this kind of work, I don't think that I've ever felt any differently. I feel as excited, privileged, and honored to be welcomed into the homes and the lives of the people who share with me, and that applies to people who are in elected office, to people who might be behind bars, to people who have decided that they want to live a polyamorous lifestyle. 

To me, understanding my fellow humans has been a privilege, and I hope that my work has allowed viewers to gain a better understanding of their fellow humans, as well.

I would caution people to tell the truth, to check their sources, and to do their best to ensure that what they speak and what they report is not fake and not untrue. And be sure that what you're putting out isn't going to do harm. That’s been one of the challenges in how things are being reported these days.